The common North European elder (Sambucus nigra) has long been valued for medicinal and culinary value. The first alcohol I ever tasted was my nan’s elderberry wine, a rich, dark, sweet, port-like affair (along with sticky, amber parsnip ‘sherry’). Elderflower is now immensely trendy and appears in all manner of foods and drinks. But elderflowers vary immensely in their perfume and some are distinctly ‘catty’ so you need to choose your bush before you pick. And just as the perfume varies so does the plant itself and for centuries strange forms have been selected by gardeners. I was first exposed to these when recreating the ‘Lunatic Asylum’ at Myddelton House, the area where Bowles assembled his strange plants.

There I found homes for various cut-leaf and variegated elders. Then there were the dark-leaved elders and I grew the (then) desirable ‘Guincho Purple’ and ‘Thundercloud’. They were good but not as dark in shady conditions and their leaf surface was matt. In Northern latitudes purple foliage can be a problem and look dull and dark unless the texture is interesting or glossy. On gloomy days they leave ‘black holes’ in the shrubbery. So they are often best used as contrasts for lighter colours, whites and pink and vibrant orange, or as foils for golden or silver foliage.

In more recent years, a slew of new forms have been bred and they are making an impression on gardens. There are many reasons for this, not the least is that they are so easy to please. They will grow in almost any soil and they are very hardy, not just to cold but also wind. When ‘Eva’ (Black Lace) was introduced I greeted it with open arms as a ‘growable’ alternative to a purple Japanese acer in my dry garden. It did not disappoint and I would regard it as an essential plant for any garden. The foliage is finely divided and elegant and somewhat glossy. It is not dull. The new growth is often rather green but quickly colours to rich blackcurrant. The only problem is that it gets big. My plants were all ‘cuttings’ five years ago and I planted several in my boundary hedge on a bank. It is windy and rather dry and it took a few years to get their roots down but they are thriving. If you prune lightly it will encourage a bushy shrub but prune hard and it will produce massive stems 2m or more high in a year. So take advantage of the different ways you can use it.

The reason I planted so many, apart from the fact that I like it, is that I use the flowers to make cordial. Not only is the cordial lovely, the colour is gorgeous too.

I have now added ‘Hyfjolais’ (Cherry Lace) to the garden which is supposed to be more compact and to have cherry pink flowers. It got off to a bad start because snails found it delicious and almost annihilated it but it is growing well now. Because all the growth is new, there are no flowers. I am not convinced it is better and it looks very similar to me. Time will tell.

I have many more, including ‘Eiffel 1’ (Black Tower) which I actually rather dislike because it is gangly and not at all elegant, and not because of the associations I have with the awful wine brand we drank in the 80s!

Sambucus ‘Jdeboer001’ (Golden Tower) is a much better plant. It is not painfully upright, as though it is restrained in a straight jacket, but broadly upright. The foliage is a good yellow at first but ages to lime and is greener in the centre of the plant where shaded. I do not prune much but do cut out a few of the older stems and, as a result, it blooms well. My plants are in full sun in heavy soil that lays wet in winter and it (well they because I planted a matching pair) are doing very well. The flowers are sweetly scented and would make good cordial too if I was not addicted to the pink version.

If you need a reliable and beautiful shrub that is pretty and will provide something edible, consider the elders.

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