Coronilla valentina: shrubby scorpion vetch, bastard senna
As winter’s end approaches our coastal garden is starting to look a little bedraggled. A mild December and January granted us a continuous display of luxuriant green, but now that same brave foliage has been torn and tattered by the wind. Beyond our garden gate there are flowers in the parks and gardens of Broadstairs, but they are pale imitations of their spring-time selves; lonely, shrunken, bleached-out little things that fail to lift my spirits.
Glowing like a candle in the dark is a plant that laughs in the face of February, Coronilla valentina subsp. glauca ‘Citrina’. Despite its unappealing common names (by rights it ought to be known as Valentine’s crown, ‘coronilla’ meaning ‘crown’), this compact, winter-flowering shrub was applauded by the great Vita Sackville-West, who praised “its persistence throughout the dreary months”, where she would find it “flowering continuously between those two great feasts of the Church – a sort of hyphen between the Birth and the Resurrection”. From November until May scorpion vetch produces little pom-poms of lemon-yellow, pea-shaped flowers atop pretty greyish-green foliage. An added bonus is the sweet scent, reminiscent of daffodils, a feature which made Coronilla valentina a popular cut flower in Victorian times. A long spell of cold may put a halt to the cheerful display, but as soon as milder weather arrives normal service is quickly resumed.
Coronilla valentina is a Mediterranean plant, common in Portugal, Malta and Croatia, although it’s been cultivated in British gardens since it was introduced to our islands in 1569. Plants are not fussy about soil type, but do demand a well-drained, sunny position in the garden. Planted in the shelter of a warm wall C. valentina will perform especially well. Like compatriots sage, lavender, cistus and rosemary, scorpion vetch does have a tendency to become woody and leggy in time. When past their best, old specimens should be replaced with vigorous new ones raised from cuttings.
The straight species Coronilla valentina has tawdry, orange-yellow flowers and is not nearly as attractive as ‘Citrina’. Those looking for something a little different might seek out the variegated form, ‘Variegata’, which is best grown in a cool greenhouse. However it’s hard to better ‘Citrina’, a plant that will transport you from autumn to spring as if winter never came between.
Coronilla valentina subsp. glauca ‘Citrina’ is available from Burncoose Nursery and Kelways.
Categories: Daily Flower Candy, Flowers, Foliage, Photography, Plants, Trees and Shrubs, Uncategorized
Hi Dan, many thanks for this cheery yellow fest on a hideously cold windy wet day in Worcestershire!
Ghastly isn’t it? We’ve had no rain at all here, but it’s been bleak and windy from dawn until dusk. Hibernating weather 🙂
This looks similar to other legume type plants (Fabaceae) we grow, but we don’t have this species. Great foliage color.
A lovely plant cheering everyone up in winter!
The ‘Brush up Broadstairs’ volunteers have worked hard on a number of carparks and neglected spots around the town. The bank under Crampton Tower is quite colourful for February, have you noticed? Not an area of horticultural excellence, but a vast improvement on its previous state.
Yes I have, well done. I noticed some laurels planted in the carpark behind the High Street today. Was that your team too?
Mine has been flowering non- stop for weeks. And it is fragrant. A gorgeous plant.
What a joy! I have a bowl of yellow hyacinths in the living room which are also giving me lots of pleasure. Enjoy the rest of Sunday.
It’s wonderful. I used to love it when mimosa dealbata came into season in the markets on La Palma and I’ve really missed it since being back in the UK, but this has the same effect. So thanks, brilliant pick!
I spotted a lovely mimosa flowering in Whitstable just after Christmas. It looked amazing against a bright blue sky. The same garden also has a magnificent standard wisteria which I enjoy over the fence later in spring.
This is such a lovely shrub, I haven’t seen the variegated one before, and it is going onto The Lust List forthwith!
I had one of these that i dug up and replanted under a conifer tree as i couldnt find space for it anywhere and its been happily living there in dry shade for the last 3 years. The botany bay nursery also has them locally. They also have medicago arborea which is similar and has orange flowers for months.
Thanks for letting me know Tim. Medicago arborea looks interesting too. Perhaps I might squeeze one into the “new garden” when the builders have finished on our house. Colourful plants that enjoy dry shade are worth their weight in gold!