Aurinia
Aurinia saxatilis
Special Features
Typically has small lance-shaped green leaves and produces abundant clusters of tiny fragrant four-petaled flowers. Flowers are often yellow but can occasionally be white.
Plant Specifications
Our team will help you integrate this plant into your landscape design
Growing Aurinia on Martha's Vineyard
Aurinia saxatilis, the basket of gold, is perfectly adapted to the rocky, sandy, sharply draining conditions found throughout Martha's Vineyard's sun-exposed garden terraces and stone-wall borders, delivering a cascade of brilliant sulfur-yellow flowers in April and May that announces the opening of the island's landscape season with exceptional visual impact. Its gray-green foliage has a natural tolerance for salt air, making it suitable for moderately exposed coastal sites in Edgartown and Vineyard Haven where other early-spring bloomers may struggle to establish. The rock garden character of the plant integrates naturally with the island's prevalent stone wall and granite outcrop landscape features.
Deer largely avoid it, supporting its use in open garden settings. Estate Care professionals shear Aurinia back by one-third immediately after flowering to maintain compactness and prevent the woody dieback that occurs when plants are left unchecked through the growing season.
