Euonymus fortunei Emerald n Gold
Euonymus fortunei emerald n gold, this popular and dare I say common evergreen shrubby plant is a good choice for the garden border giving interest the whole year.
A hardy brute which will thrive in any well drained soil sun or part shade. The bright golden variegated leaves are pink edged when the Winter sets in. At times you will see some of the leaves turning plain green, remove these stems to prevent the plant reverting. This Euonymus gives good ground cover but is also attractive as a specimen plant. I have seen it mentioned as growing to a height of 2/3 ft, I have never seen it reach this height in our garden, mind you I suppose this is because we keep it in check.
Hardiness – Fully hardy
Position – Full sun/part shade
Height – 60cm
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This is another Euonymus Fortunei which has been in our garden, on this very spot for over twenty years. Silver Queen is the title bestowed upon this one, and has the RHS prestigious award of garden merit. See how it tumbles down from the border above, a clear indication that it could well reach the height of 3ft if left to its own devices. It is identical in habit to Emerald n Gold.
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Here we have some pictures taken of Crathes Castle and gardens when paying a visit in mid April. Crathes lies about 13 miles west of where we live.
King Robert the Bruce in 1323 gifted the land to the Burnett of Leys family. At this time a wooden fortress structure known as a crannog was built.
It was not until 1553 that building of the current structure was started. Political problems whilst Mary Queen of Scots reigned caused delays to the construction. It was finally completed by Alexander Burnett of Leys in 1596.
The Castle was the ancestral home of the Burnetts for 400 years. It was gifted to the National trust for Scotland in 1951 by the 13th Baronet of Leys Sir James Burnett.
The Castle contains a large selection of portraits and is said to be haunted by the green lady, of which I have never been witness to.
Within the Castle estate of 540 acres is a 4acre walled garden. Within these walls are hedges of Irish Yew dating from 1702. For me the star attraction is the herbaceous borders which are absolutely amazing in Summer.
My April visit to Crathes has given me a number of pictures of Spring flowering plants which I will profile on my blog.
Hi Alistair, Crathes is one of my favourite NTS places to visit. The gardens are well worth the trek. Not so sure about the new coffee place, really preferred the way it was.
Yes Jennifer we probably will go back to Crathes in the Summer.
I am a big fan of euonymus and have a number of them. I find they do a great job of providing winter interest and colour ( a great feature when you have endless winters!) It was a treat to see the castle and the grounds in spring. I look forward to the plant profiles from your visit. I am hoping you will be able to revisit the castle to show us all the herbaceous borders in summer.
Slow dependable sounds just fitting Cathy.
Oh, oh, ohhh…. definitely, you’ve whetted my appetite for a tour of the Scottish castles! And I love the euonymous, which grows enthusiastically here as well! We call it “Slow dependable” here… slow growing but steady as a rock. Great, great photos of the castle grounds! TFS!
Cathy in MA-USA
Hi Masha, there is quite a number of cultivars, mind you I suspect everything grows well in your part of the world.
No chance Carolyn, the place is haunted.
Alistair, I really enjoyed my visit to Crathes Castle. I hope you didn’t behead any statues while you were there. Carolyn
Beautiful pictures of the castle and the grounds – the lush green lawns and the carefully sculpted shrubbery never cease to amaze me!
Euonymus grows big here – I have seen 5-6′ tall hedges of it, maybe that is another cultivar?
Rosie, I have driven past balmoral on so many occasions but have never visited. Shame on me.
Hi Alistair – I too grow both of these though emerald ‘n gold had some die back this year. I try to remember to clip it at regular intervals though I must put that on my to do list for this year. My silver queen is much more restraint than yours as she grows in poor soil near my small waterfall and I’ve never had to clip yet.
Lovely images from Crathes – I’ve never been there – the nearest I’ve been up in that area was at Balmoral Castle one summer.
Hi Laura, yes foliage is so very important, many gardeners are not so fond of variegated foliage.
Hi Alistair – I love and have both of these and yours go to show how the importance of foliage cannot be underestimated in the garden context. Like how you have ‘Silver Queen’ girding your steps. Nice lead on into the Castle with grounds fit for a king. Enjoyed the tour. Thank you
Hi Holley, our box hedge died off a few years ago and we planted Yew to replace it. Not too sure how it will do.
Yes Nell, some plants are hard to let go of.
Tatyana, I also really like English gardens but I am very fond of the gardens here in Scotland.
Yes Chris as Janet says it grows much taller in her garden.
They certainly are a hardy plant Janet, even without my trimming I cant imagine it growing to such a height in our garden.
Hi Alistair, I have Emerald ‘n’ Gold in my garden, as well as Silver Queen, almost the only shrubs that survived from what was here when we arrived. Mine are both planted against a wall, and grow up it very happily, to well over 7′ – they make great cover and the robins have been known to nest in them, though the one growing by the garage needs checking to prevent it invading! Look forward to seeing the spring flowers post, the castle and grounds look like a lovely place to spend some time.
I happen to like Emerald and Gold Euonymus, and you show some beautiful specimens. I think of it as a low spreading cultivar, but have seen it for sale with that name but with an upright form, noted to grow to 3-4′. The castle is wonderful – we miss the castles of Europe – there’s just nothing to compare here in the US.
I agree with you – it’s a great shrub! I have one in front of the house, and it adds a lot to the front bed’s look. I also love the gardens around the castle. They look so different from the gardens I saw in Germany. Honestly saying, I like English gardens more. Although, the gardens which we visited in Germany have their own charm.
Emerald n Gold was the euonymous that I should have planted to anchor the end of the yellow bed but Euonymous japonica was what I had, a cutting from MIL’s original plants that have long since gone to Glory, the only surviving piece which I felt compelled to root and give a place of honor.
I have a new gold euonymus, which I’m enjoying very much. I like the look of the Silver one, too. What an enchanting castle and I love the gardens. Yews fascinate me, I suppose because it’s a bit hot here for them, and they are always shaped in such interesting ways. I know a lot of people don’t like that look, but I do. Such history – the dates are amazing to an American.
Thanks Larry, Victory Garden, I will have to check this out. Larry! that is one big garden party tomorrow, hope the rain doesn’t spoil it, although I just heard on the radio that this is judgement day and none of us may be here tomorrow, (just a cheery thought.) The really great weather which we had in April has changed a bit, only about 48f here today. Just when we are about ready to get Summer bedding planted out, it turns cold. Have a great day.
Yes Donna, I have to say I don’t visit these places often enough.
Yes Donna, Crathes isn’t one of those super grand looking castles, but the whole atmosphere of the area is quite amazing.
Alistair I love the colors of these shrubs and yours are stunners….the castle though is amazing. I love the smooth stone and the simple architecture. The landscape and gardens off set it perfectly and I would put this on my list of must visits. Your pictures once again captured it perfectly!!
I would love to live in a land of castles. A place to both dream and reflect in the pastoral settings. I would visit them all. In PA I lived near a castle built by a textile magnate. It was old by our standards, but the history you have there is amazing.
Great post as always Alistair! Years ago ‘Victory Garden’ did an episode on Crathes Castle and gardens… it’s an amazing place and I’ve always remembered it. How very neat to be as close as you are. We are at spring peak just now with the bulk of the flowering trees now in bloom and still a bit of everything that came before still showing at least a bit of bloom. We are hosting a garden party tomorrow for 120 folks and it should be great although heavy rain is possible overnight tonight and again in the later day tomorrow… it will be a bit of a ‘keep the faith’ issue as we don’t have room in the house of 120 people. We did empty the barn and hopefully that will give shelter if a storm passes through. Since this is an open gardens sort of affair, hopefully not all will be here at the same time!
Take care… Larry
b-a-g, some plants don’t instantly grab our attention, I think Euonymus may well be one of those.
I have a Euonymus shrub (I didn’t know it was called that), but I have never paid it any attention, apart from pruning it back. I’m going to take a closer look at it today, after seeing your spectacular tumbling specimen.
Re: Crathes Castle – I would love to have the job of pruning those trees and hedges into shapes.