20. Buxaceae

 

For me the Buxaceae family will always bring to mind the boxwood hedges (Buxus sempervirens) I grew up around in the eastern U.S. While they are native to a huge portion of the Old World, including all the Mediterranean and parts of Asia, I associate them with the stately old gardens of Europe. For this I have to thank places like Colonial Williamsburg and Old Westbury Gardens (above), which provide a direct link to traditional English gardens in the New World. Pictured here, appropriately, is the Boxwood Garden; the sprawling boxwoods on either side of the pool have unfortunately succumbed to disease and are no longer there.

A funny thing about the boxwood shrubs I grew up around is that they needed to be covered or "boxed" up in the winter. I don't think this has anything to do with the name. I guess they are just sensitive enough that six inches of snow would have a negative effect on their well being. Curiously, the nearby rhododendrons, which seem more delicate, do just fine uncovered.

Also in the same family, and also familiar to me from my early years, is the ground cover Pachysandra terminalis (seen below).  While commonly used in American gardening, it is native to Asia and sometimes goes by the name Japanese spurge.