This shrub is in the winter bed in the north east corner.

Purchased from the Royal Horticultural Society, Wisley, Surrey. The gift of George Marshall in February 2017.

Edgeworthia chrysantha is native to Myanmar and south-central and southeast China. It is naturalised in Japan. The selection ‘Grandiflora’ has, as the name implies, flowers larger than those of the straight species.

Named in honour of Michael Pakenham Edgeworth (1812–1881), an Irish-born amateur botanist, who worked for the East India Company. The Latin chrysantha is in reference to the plant’s yellow flowers.

A deciduous shrub with dark green, leathery, single, alternate leaves, 7.6 to 12.7 cm long. It can reach a height of 1.2 to 1.8 m.

Flowers are yellow, have a sweet scent, and are in clusters at the branch tips. The flowering period extends from February to April.

The bark fibres of these plants are used for making the handmade Japanese tissue which is a thin but durable paper.