Virginia Sweetspires
Virginia Sweetspire, Itea virginica is an easy and outstanding plant to grow. It produces white fragrant flowers in May each year. It is very adaptable doing well in full sun to heavy shade, tolerates a wide range of pH and soil conditions--from moist to dry. It also has outstanding fall foliage.
Illicium's
Another group of native shrubs is the Illicium’s or Anise plants. Illicium floridanum comes in white or red flowered varieties. The Illicium parviflorum is a hardier performer and produces a larger mass planting. Makes a good screening or hedge plant in a shady, moist area in your yard. The Florida anise plants look better in more shade. If exposed to much sunlight, they tend to be a thinner plant.
A Favorite (Azaleas)
The number one landscape plant tends to be the azalea. But there are native azaleas that can be a wonderful addition to your landscape. You can get colors and scents unheard of in evergreen hybrids, and they are much more tolerant of our weather conditions--both summer and winter. The only downside for some people, is that they aren’t evergreen. These shrubs can grow quite large in time, and typically bloom in mid to late spring. One of the most fragrant of these is Rhododendron alabamense, the Alabama azalea. It produces white flowers, blotched in yellow and can grow up to eight feet in height. Rhododendron arborescens or the Sweet Azalea produces white to pink azaleas with red styles, grows five to six feet in height. The Flame azaleas, Rhododendron calendulaceum produces some wonderful yellow and orange varieties. So instead of opting for all evergreens, plant some of these or other wonderful deciduous varieties. They will pay you back with graceful blooms every spring without the fuss of the evergreen type.