We first saw this shrub in full bloom in a neighbor’s yard.  We loved the purple flowers.  We bought and planted the shrub almost without thought of where the best location for it would be..  It is recommended that it be planted in full sun, but we wanted to see it from our office window.  So that means it gets sun only in the afternoon.  We dug a hole twice a large as the root system and filled the hole with water.  After the water soaked into the ground, we put a mixture of compost and humus in the bottom. The shrub was placed on top of that and dirt was filled in around the roots.  We watered it regularly for about a month.  Since then we have shamefully neglected it.  Still, every year for three years now it has burst forth into exquisite bloom right outside our window. For more information on planting and taking care of this wonderful plant go to: 

'Nothing Gold Can Stay'

Nature's first green is gold,

Her hardest hue to hold.

Her early leaf's a flower;

But only so an hour.

Then leaf subsides to leaf.

So Edensank to grief,

So dawn goes down to day.

Nothing gold can stay.