Laburnum

[Luc Gilgemyn]

Hi Michael,
Mine was bought some 15 years ago on a stem - it doesn't grow all that fast, but then it's not in the most favourable of conditions : much competition, lean and rocky soil that dries out very rapidly.
But it does well for me anyway.
I think that basically, you can grow it in just about any form or way you like, depending on how you prune it.

[Maggi Young]

It  can grow quite fast and you can train it any way you want. As a single stemmed tree, as a multistemmed shrub, flat against a wall... and, most famously in quite a few big gardes, as an archway or even to form a tunnel of flowers over a pathway... with this last method, you can then look through the tunnel and see all the flowers and walk through getting the sunshine through the yellow flowers and have a soft cascade overhead... very beautiful!

[Luc Gilgemyn]

You're so right Maggi - I remember seeing it as an archway in a British garden some years ago, it was very impressive 
I forgot where it was though... 

[Maggi Young]

http://www.kailziegardens.com/history.html 
http://www.visittweeddale.com/what_to_do/kailzie_gardens.php
  for a laburnum walk in Scotland and pix
One of the most famous in England is the one Rosemary Verey planted at Barnsley House, Gardens, I think...
http://www.barnsleyhouse.com/flash.html

This is what the tourist board site says now: This beautiful garden was created by Rosemary Verey.

The mature 4.5 acre garden has been planted so that there is something of interest whatever the season.  There are spring bulbs, mixed borders and superb autumn colours.

Features include a potager, a parterre with perfectly clipped box hedges, a laburnum walk (flowering in late May/early June) and a decorative vegetable garden.  The garden furniture was created by Charles Verey and the fountain and statues are the work of Simon Verity.  There are also two 18th century summer houses.

The garden has home-progagated plants for sale.

The house is now a hotel with a restaurant. Events include tours of the garden with lunch.

[SueG]

Rosemary Verey's garden in the Cotswold had/s a famous laburnum walk and there was a super one at the Cawdor Castle I thought?
Sue

[Maggi Young]

This is  the Barnsley House walk .... great combination with the underplanting of Allium
http://www.cotswolds.info/images/gardens/barnsley3.jpg

[Joakim B]

Michel compared with Wilsteria it grows much more like a tree and not so much as a climber but if one can make trees out of Wilsteria one can make climbers or at least hanging from support.
Kind regards
Joakim

[Michael]

Thanks for the replies!

By the way, look at this picture! It's amazing, i can hardly believe that such a thing could ever exist!

Bodnant:

[Luc Gilgemyn]

Now I remember - that's the one I saw visiting Bodnant a number of years ago !
What a show !

[Michael]

Luc, you were there? How cool! Is the true arch as impressive as it is on that picture?

[Luc Gilgemyn]

I must admit, that it was flowering a bit less profusely than on the picture - but it still looked very impressive !