Forsythia is one of the oldest reliable signals of the turning year: bright yellow flowers erupting along naked arching stems weeks before the first leaf appears, a genus of 11 species native to China, Japan, and pockets of southeast Europe, and named for William Forsyth, Scottish superintendent of the Royal Gardens at Kensington Palace. Mature plants span 3 to 10 feet depending on species, and grow vigorously enough to fill a shrub border or anchor a slope with little persuasion.

It earns its place through generosity and forgiveness. Poor soils, urban conditions, mild drought — forsythia shrugs off what would undo more refined shrubs. Pruning timing is the one non-negotiable: flowers form on old wood, so any cutting must happen directly after bloom, never later than mid-July. Left unpruned, plants can become ungainly; cut back hard to the ground, they regenerate with purpose. The heterostylous flowers are self-sterile, which means fruit is rarely produced — all the plant's energy goes into that one annual spectacle.