If you are looking for a hard-working shrub that doesn’t demand a weekend of pruning every month, you have probably run into the Abelia family. While older varieties have a habit of turning into massive, unruly fountains that swallow up garden pathways, Abelia × grandiflora ‘Radiance’ changes the game. Discovered as a natural mutation on…

There is a distinct point in late August when the garden can start looking incredibly tired. The mid-summer perennials are collapsing into seed heads, the hydrangeas are beginning to papery-brown at the edges, and everything just feels a bit exhausted. Except for the Abelia. If you walk past an abelia shrub in late summer, you’ll…