Abelia is a popular semi evergreen, garden shrub with real flower power. It is found in Eastern Asia and Southern North America and has about 20 species. The plant is wonderful for later summer borders. Some of the plant species also have great fragrance.

When fully grown, Abelia has a spread of 2 m and reaches 1 to 6m height. The form of the shrub is dense round, multi stemmed, and arching branches. Though Abelia has green glossy leaves which looks wonderful, it is planted more for its beautiful flowers. The flowering of Abelia continues over a long and continuous late spring to fall period.

A widely grown hybrid of Abelia is the Abelia x grandiflora. This species has funnel shaped white flowers which are also white tinged pink in color. The shrub grows quickly and soon fills up the garden space. The flowers are fragrant and pretty. The leaves are dark green in color.

Abelia needs sheltered sunny positions to grow. It prefers moist well drained site but tolerates clay, damp or dry soil. The Abelia is also very attractive to some butterflies, quite often a half a dozen are always fluttering around the blossoms. The Abelia also attracts many other insects. The bumblebees are a laugh - they bumble around the bush and it's funny watching them trying to get their large heads as deep as possible into the flowers.