Buxus sempervirens Elegans - Boxwood

Buxus sempervirens 'Elegans' is the most beautiful form with variegated foliage of the common boxwood. Evergreen, elegant and bright, its small foliage of shiny dark green widely margined with white works wonders in the shaded areas of the garden or terrace. This decorative shrub all year round, unlike the one that may have been seen too much in French gardens, is far from embodying monotony. Equipped with the same robustness, it grows everywhere, albeit at its own pace, which means slowly, but without requiring any maintenance. In mixed, free or trimmed hedges, in free shrubs, in topiaries or in bonsai, it lends itself to all desires!

Buxus sempervirens, boxwood, famous representative of the boxwood family, is the only evergreen shrub, along with Holly and Yew, that is spontaneous in the flora of our regions located north of the Loire. Its origins are uncertain, but it is generally accepted that they are found in southern Europe, Asia Minor and North Africa. It is found in Portugal, northern Spain, France, Germany, England, southern Belgium, Luxembourg and Switzerland. But also in the Balkans, as well as in Bulgaria. As shown by this vast distribution area, it is a very ubiquitous shrub, capable of adapting to any type of soil and climate.

The 'Elegans' selection, sometimes marketed under the name Buxus sempervirens 'Elegantissima', only differs in its green foliage margined with white. It is a slow-growing shrub with small aromatic leaves (whose smell may be unpleasant), leathery, evergreen, generally dark green in colour. It is interesting to note that its appearance varies greatly depending on its living conditions. In humid or shaded areas, its leaves will be darker green, larger, and the plant will exceed 3m (9ft 10in) in height. In rather dry, even very dry, and sunnier areas, its leaves will be lighter, sometimes almost yellow, and its growth more modest. In autumn or winter, sometimes as early as the end of summer in very dry climates, the foliage can take interesting bronze or orange hues. The abundant, nectar-rich and fragrant flowering, in clusters of small greenish petals and bouquets of yellow stamens, takes place in April-May. Each cluster is composed of a terminal female flower and several pendulous male flowers. This flowering is followed by the formation of small brown-grey, leathery capsules containing many ripe seeds in late summer. Their scent attracts ants that disperse them, thus contributing to the multiplication of the plant. It is common to see 50-year-old boxwoods in the gardens of family homes, and in very old gardens, individuals over 500 years old can be found.

The very dense foliage of the 'Elegans' Boxwood is composed of small leathery leaves of a shiny green, widely edged with white, almost white when budding. Reaching an average height of 1.50m (4ft 11in) and a spread of 1.25m (4ft 1in), with very slow growth, this small naturally rounded shrub possesses all the other characteristics of the type. It is perfect for creating a persistent hedge, if one is patient. Boxwood enhances every structure in the garden as well as all neighboring plants. An annual pruning is sufficient, in June, allowing for fragrant and pleasant spring flowering due to its abundance. Boxwood is often used on terraces, in beautiful ceramic or stone vases, and in small gardens for its strong decorative value all year round, while taking up little space. In kitchen gardens, it can delineate squares of aromatic plants, different parts of a vegetable garden, the area reserved for cut flowers... In a somewhat wild area of the garden, under large trees for example, it will form beautiful bright bushes all year round, emerging from a carpet of Algerian Bellecour ivy for example.

A legendary tree: the boxwood has lemon yellow wood, with a very fine grain, remarkably hard. It is the hardest wood that can be found in the northern hemisphere. It ranks just behind ebony, from various species originating from the tropical regions of the old world. A symbol of immortality, it has been used since antiquity for the quality of its wood: the Greeks and Romans used it to make tablets covered with wax on which they wrote. Highly sought after by turners, engravers, sculptors, it was also used to make various musical instruments, tool handles, and to make the mallet of Masonic lodges, where it symbolized firmness and perseverance.