“What’s this?” asked Jean, holding out a flower-tipped sprig.

It was a piece of fragrant summersweet. Botanically Clethra alnifolia, this shrub is blooming right on time. It has adapted with no visible troubles to summer, 2013, with its patternless weather.

Right now, the 4-8-foot bushes are producing new bottlebrush racemes on the ends of this year’s upright-growing twigs. In the wild, most of those little floral wands are creamy white; wild or cultivated, the shrubs may wave pale pink to rosy red flower trusses at passers-by.

Clethra bushes are easy to grow, especially since the originals are native to the eastern United States. They need no winter care, since they thrive in USDA Zones 3 to 9 (as in Georgia). They grow well where soil is mildly moist and acidic.

The shrubs wake up later than most other trees and bushes in spring. The simple leaves grow alternately along the twigs, glossy and light green to begin. By mid-autumn, the foliage turns yellow to light brown before falling off. The descriptive botanical “alnifolia” means that the leaves look like those on alders.

Clethra flowers smell spicy. They can attract bees. In Greece, where Clethra grows wild, I’ve learned that the honey gathered from these flowers is much prized. Butterflies and even hummingbirds also like to sip from the tiny flowers, so there is always a little extra life around the bushes.

At the very end of their blooming season, the stem tips dry around the seed pods, which become long-lasting black capsules. They look like peppercorns, so many people call this plant “sweet pepperbush.”

I would keep an eye on any Clethra growing in the garden, for it can sprout suckers to start a whole colony of bushes. Leave it alone, and it will create a whole thicket – not something I would like in my garden.

Plant breeders have produced some delightful variations on the original shrub. “Hummingbird” is a smaller version, maybe 3-5 feet tall. “Pink Spires” is a bit broader, with many upright rosy-tipped buds (later pale pink flowers) on those 2-6-inch spires. (Some sources call this one “spire.” Same bush, one with an added “s.”) Then there’s “Ruby Spice,” which has dark rose wands of flowers, perhaps most fragrant of all.

For anyone with a small yard, here are bushes which can be kept trimmed to reasonable size. Just watch the season to prune them so you don’t remove a year’s flowers. In times of drought, water the Clethra, but don’t drown it. Otherwise, if it’s planted where soil is damp, just enjoy it.

Here’s comfort for gardeners who feel plagued by deer. Clethra, and especially Hummingbird and Ruby Spice varieties, are, as a rule, less attractive fodder for deer, because the strong flower scent gets in the way.

Deer depend on their sense of smell to pick up on signs of danger (to them). Sometimes, mingling aromatic herbs or strongly fragrant flowers with other plants will discourage all but the most desperately hungry animals.

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