Forsythia

Forsythia is the first shrub to break winter and the most cuttable of all woody plants: long arching stems 6 to 10 feet covered entirely in yellow flowers in the last weeks of winter, before a single leaf appears. It is vigorous and unfussy, tolerating poor soil, clay and neglect, and it flowers best in full sun. The compact forms ('Show Off', 'Gold Tide') suit a small garden; the species wants room.

For forcing, cut bare stems four to six weeks before the outdoor bloom, once the buds have swollen a little, and bring them into a warm room in water; they open in two to four weeks and give a vivid yellow branch arrangement in the depths of winter. Once the buds colour outdoors, cut flowering branches freely; they last a week.

Prune right after flowering, never in autumn or winter, or you cut off next year's buds, which form on the previous season's growth; take a third of the oldest stems to the ground each year to keep it young and arching rather than shearing it into a ball. It roots wherever a stem touches the ground. The early flowers feed the first bees out of hibernation, and deer leave it alone. Hardy in zones 4 to 9, though the flower buds of older cultivars are killed by hard winters north of zone 5; 'Meadowlark' and 'Northern Sun' are the bud-hardy ones.