Garden Studios

LITTLE known in gardening circles, bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus) is a curiosity worth considering. It’s particularly good to set free along a huge pergola with other climbers, and maybe better of all running through a local hedgerow. A potentially large climber, bittersweet is virtually invisible for many of the year, blending with surrounding foliage.

Then in autumn, it puts on its big show. The leaves turn bright yellow and the orange-yellow seed capsules burst open to disclose bright-red seeds inside. Together both features make a very good contrast and appear well against an evergreen background.

Bittersweet is at its best from early October to late November, when the garden needs all of the help it may get. It’s really easy to grow – it’s not fussy about soil and happy in sun or light shade.