This is an amazing plant. When I bought it, it was under 1 m tall and spindly so it went into a strong, ceramic, square, medium/large sized pot on the terrace - SW facing. It flourished with no help from me growing to 2m and flowering profusely. In 2010 it broke out of its pot and found its way past the terrace stone slabs into the ground and grew rapidly into a 4m x 3m tree.

Every year I would look at its deep, bright yellow blooms and think 'are you just too vulgar?' but it flowered so early and for such a long season and was interspersed with a fabulous climbing scarlet rose so it was allowed to stay.

However, it has furry leaves and seed pods, the hairs on which are skin and eye irritants and my neighbours with small children did not appreciate these dropping on their side of the fence. It also began to rock severely in winds and had to be pinioned to the trellis with an old chain dog lead. So in 2012 it was felled and dug out of its under terrace home and burnt in my living room over the winter. RIP. The Amelanchier was put into a properly made hole where it used to live and was too boring for words so its place has now been taken by both a Vibernum bodnantense 'Charles Lamont' and an unusual Solanum.