Viburnum rafinesquianum 'Louise's Sunbeam' (downy arrowwood)

If Vincent van Gogh gardened, I think he'd favor yellow shrubs. They do so much to lighten dark garden nooks and improve my mood.

This native shrub is a colorful variation on the typically green, native viburnum theme - use it in shady shrub borders and for naturalizing in woodlands.

The yellow new growth comes on strong and shows off through spring. When the heat of June-July arrives, it settles down to dark green, same as the straight species, then turns a beautiful burgundy in autumn.

To be honest, flowers are fragrant, but not in a good way - there's a stink when you dive your nose into a flower, so don't do that. 

Since this is Dirr's discovery, we're doing as he instructed in his Manual of Woody Landscape Plants and donating $1 of each plant sold will go to the Sweet Melissa Fund, supporting lung transplant patients at the University of North Carolina.

• a plant for naturalizing in woodland settings
• it's drought tolerant once established, which is especially important for the dry shade of a woodland setting

bird food, polinator plant, colorful new growth, colonizer

The leaves started out yellow, but they turned green. Is my plant broken?
It is not broken - turning green happens to some plants with colorful new growth, especially in climates with hot summers. The same thing happens in the Southeastern US to many Japanese maples that flush purple. Your plant is fine and healthy. You'll be able to enjoy that joyous yellow flush of color again next spring.