Seven-son flower is the rare tree that solves the late-season problem without apology. Native to China and introduced to Western horticulture in the early 20th century, this small deciduous tree or large shrub in the honeysuckle family (Caprifoliaceae) builds quietly through summer. The buds form early and seem to wait; then in September, seven-flowered clusters blanket the entire canopy in white, fragrant blossoms that draw bees, monarch butterflies, and other late-season pollinators. The Royal Horticultural Society recognized its merit with an Award of Garden Merit for good reason.

What follows the flowers may be the better show. As the white petals fall, the persistent calyxes swell and deepen to cherry red and rose-purple, wrapping the rounded seeds in vivid color that carries well into autumn. Winter strips the tree to its bones and reveals exfoliating bark on stems as small as half an inch across: gray-brown peeling back to show a lighter interior, most beautiful in low winter light. Growing 10 to 20 feet tall in either a fountain-form shrub or a clean single-trunk tree depending on how it is pruned, it tolerates a wide range of soils and is not an aggressive self-seeder.