Some plants seem to carry an unnecessary weight of cultural baggage among gardeners. If they were newly introduced exotic specimens, they’d probably sell for a fortune to excitable auction visitors thanks to their incredible beauty, resilient growth habits and overall exceptional garden worthiness. However, because of cultural associations to do with how they have traditionally been used, we seem to regard them with disdain or, worse, immediately look past them as if they weren’t there. This means we miss out on some wonderful horticultural possibilities. And one of the best is the much-maligned mahonia.
These tough, evergreen plants became a popular choice in amenity horticulture during the 70s and 80s. Capable of surviving on essentially zero maintenance for years on end and offering up a permanent green backdrop of virtually indestructible foliage, they were used on thousands of council roundabouts, supermarket carparks and new-build housing estates.
