Genista sagittalis

The winged broom, whose Latin name is Genista sagittalis, is a small evergreen subshrub that will amaze you with its erect and winged stems of a beautiful tender green. From May to July, it is covered with a profusion of bright yellow flower clusters that harmonize delicately with the colour of the stems. Its dense bushy habit makes it an ideal ground cover that will delight your borders, rockeries or terrace pots in full sun or partial shade.

The winged broom, also called genistrelle or winged broom, belongs to the famous family of Legumes and is native to southern Europe. It is a small non-thorny subshrub with a bushy habit that will not exceed 30cm (11.8in) in height and will spread over 1m (3ft 4in) in width, or even more. Indeed, the winged broom has rooting stems that allow it to multiply vegetatively by producing new roots on the stems. These woody stems with upright branches have the particularity of being bordered by three wings of tender green colour, which stop at each node. From May to July, the stems are covered with a profusion of dense terminal clusters of bright yellow flowers. They then form hairy pods that are 1 to 2cm (0.4 to 0.8in) long. The inconspicuous leaves are lanceolate, sessile, and light green in colour.

This genus, mainly composed of shrubs, also includes some subshrubs, which resemble perennial plants and will find a special place in the gravelly and well-drained soil of rockeries, the top of a wall, or a paving where, over time, they will spread to cover an area of one square metre or more.

Play with its yellow flowering in combination with other varieties of brooms or other shrubs, to spread the flowering in your borders with Forsythia that blooms earlier or a buddleia that blooms later. Create a beautiful contrast between the yellow of the broom and the blue and shape of the flowers of the 'Heavenly Blue' flax of Narbonne. Also consider using it in pots to flower the surroundings of your house, for example. One thing is certain, wherever your Genista sagittalis is in your garden, it will give you a beautiful source of light.