I love flowering shrubs and often recommend them to fellow gardeners who want lots of color and blossoms with less work.  Right now, though, I am especially appreciative of a tried and true shrub whose flowers are insignificant--variegated euonymus.

The variegated euonymus in my yard came with the house when I bought it ten years ago.  It is a green and gold-leafed type.  I don't know its cultivar name, but it resembles the newer variegated euonymus called 'Blondy'.  Mine is about three feet high and equally wide, and it performs flawlessly in all kinds of weather, needing only occasional pruning to keep it in shape.  Like many variegated plants, it sometimes sprouts a branch or two that reverts to green.  When that happens, all I do is clip off the green-leafed branches and let the shrub take care of itself.

Euonymus is evergreen, which makes it a valuable plant in winter.  Its bright two-toned leaves gladden the house as well as the garden.  At this time of year I love to clip branches for winter bouquets.  The leaves are almost as showy as flowers when you arrange them in a vase.  Right now I have a pot-bellied container full of variegated euonymus, rose hips of several sizes and sprigs of winter-blooming jasmine (Jasminum nudiflorum) on my dining room table.  The tiny yellow flowers of the jasmine have opened in the warm house.  The combination of greenery, flowers and fruits add up to a bouquet that is fresh, interesting and even a little spring-like.

When the garden is full of spring and summer flowers, it's easy to overlook variegated euonymus.  But, like a good friend, euonymus comes into its own when life and the climate tend to be dull and gray.