These frothy blooms brighten the landscape in June. Oceanspray grows as a shrub with thin stems that reach up to 15 feet tall. The wood of the stems is very hard and the tiny white blossoms explode in delicate clusters. The nectar from the blooms provides food to butterflies and other insects.
The changes in fall and winter are dramatic. The blossoms dry to brown clusters of powdery looking seeds. They look frail and ephemeral but they hold up to harsh winds and last well into the winter months, providing seeds to overwintering birds.
This is a wonderful “cover” plant! I did not know what this was when we moved here and we almost hacked it down (it was in the brown state)…later, our nurseryman was delivering trees to us and told us what it was. It has grown and made a beautiful privacy screen between us and our unbelievably messy neighbor! I value it highly for it’s beauty also.
The “brown state” looks really dead — and is quite a contrast to the pretty blossoms — but when I look it as food for birds my attitude changes. It morphs to become a big “welcome!” bush.