Clethra alnifolia ‘Hummingbird’ Richard Lynch in the nursery trade

in the nursery trade

and when their fruit ripens in late spring it drops straight into the water and floats

the small creamy flowers are barely noticed

This spiny

Clethra alnifolia ‘Hummingbird’ Richard Lynch in the nursery tradeSummersweet, or sweet pepperbush, is one of the most useful of the native shrubs for moist, shaded ground, and 'Hummingbird' is the compact, free flowering selection that made the species a garden staple. Like the straight Clethra alnifolia, this is a stoloniferous deciduous shrub that forms colonies in moist, acid soil, valued above all for the upright spikes of intensely fragrant white flowers that perfume the whole garden in the heat of summer,