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THE NEWSLETTER

December 2016

Five of the best shrubs for winter scent

At the risk of being a bit of a Scrooge, I tend to rail at well-meaning friends buying me plants for Christmas;

do I have the right place for it or the room, do I even like it? A much better plan is to suggest something

specific for a particular spot if pressed for present ideas.

Now our lovely autumn has passed this can seem like the ‘fag-end’ of the year as one of my clients called it.

So what’s going on in the garden now? Winter is four months long in Britain – many trees are not fully

clothed with leaves until well into April. So it seems sense that many of our public gardens are making the

most of winter gardening – focussing on shapes, textures, interesting bark and twigs – and winter flowers.

Many of these are wonderfully scented, often making their presence felt on sunny days of mid –late winter

along with the snowdrops. Plants don’t flower for our benefit – they are out to lure insects buzzing about

and in winter with low light levels, it’s a waste of a plant’s energy putting out showy, bright flowers.

Instead a more subtle strategy is deployed - smaller flowers more resistant to freezing temperatures and

sweetly scented to entice the bolder insects emerging in winter sun. Insects have a fantastic sense of smell

– some moths can detect a flower or a mate from 2 miles away.

So here’s a tough little evergreen that deserves a place in most gardens:

Sarcococca humilis – a small glossy leaved

shrub that is perfectly happy in a dark corner

– in a border by the back door would be ideal.

Its tiny, insignificant flowers emit a rich vanilla

scent, particularly welcome in winter as you

take the rubbish out to the bins.

A larger, statelier shrub or small tree, Hammamelis mollis or Witch hazel – is ideal as a specimen to be seen

from the house. Its strange crinkly-petaled yellow flowers appear profusely on naked stems and will entice

you into the garden for a sniff. There other varieties H. x intermedia ‘Diane’ with copper red flowers or

H. ‘Jelena’ with blooms of burnt orange.

More well-known is Viburnum x bodnantense - a tall,

rather lanky shrub but well stocked with cool pink

flowers from late autumn to early spring. Its sweet

warm scent never fails on a chilly day.

Lovers of Daphne will be familiar with Daphne

mezereum – a cool moist-ish soil will produce better

growth for this slow grower. And resist the

temptation to cut any of its stiff stems covered in

wonderfully fragrant pink flowers, as it resents

pruning of any kind.

And perhaps not so decorative

than its climbing cousins,

Lonicera x fragrantissima

makes up for its sparse

shrubbiness with its small but

pretty flowers on bare stems

from late winter to spring. A

sheltered corner would suit it

to protect its blooms from

frosts but worth venturing into

the garden for its intense

fragrance.

For more inspiration a visit to RHS Rosemoor is always rewarding - the Winter garden especially is cheering

on a drab day.

Wishing you all a very Happy Christmas and prosperous New Year!