It is always a pleasure to receive a question or a request from a reader or friend to write a column on a specific topic. Actually, it is a twofold pleasure: Not only does it mean that I don’t have to search for a topic that week, it also means that people are reading the “Gardening Corner.”

This week’s column is one that that was suggested by a Gazette-Journal reader who lives in Kilmarnock. He is impressed by the two massive bottlebrush buckeye shrubs on the right side of Route 14 in Gloucester heading toward Mathews. He thinks they are “champion,” and indeed they are. I notice them every time I drive to Mathews, but I had never stopped to look at them until a few days ago.

Bottlebrush buckeye (Aesculus parviflora) is a deciduous shrub native to the southeastern United States. It is a member of the Sapindaceae or soapberry family. Other bottlebrush buckeye relatives that are native to eastern North America include the Ohio buckeye, the red and yellow buckeyes, and the painted ...