The flowering shrubs in the Winter Garden really cheer you up on those days when it never seems to get fully light and the temperature is hovering around freezing point.
Our specimens of Mahonia x media ‘Charity’ are looking particularly good at the moment. Their deep yellow flowers provide a good display over a long period and have the added bonus of being scented. The cream-coloured flowers of Lonicera x purpusii ‘Winter Beauty’ (one of the winter-flowering honeysuckles) are less showy than those of the Mahonia, but they more than make up for this with their sweet scent.
Another shrub with highly-scented flowers is Daphne bholua ‘Jacqueline Postill’. At the time of writing, the flower buds of our plants have yet to open, but should do so fairly soon. However, Daphne bholua ‘Darjeeling’ has been in flower in the Winter Garden since before Christmas and its intoxicating fragrance is providing visitors with a great deal of pleasure.
The star performers at the moment are undoubtedly the witch hazels (Hamamelis). The unusual spider-like flowers appear on bare branches, in colours ranging from pale yellow H. x intermedia ‘Sunburst’, through sulphur-yellow H. x intermedia ‘Pallida’ and H. japonica ‘Sulphurea’ and red (H. x intermedia ‘Ruby Glow’ and H. x intermedia ‘Diane’. Not all of the witch hazels carry fragrant flowers, but of those that do, Hamamelis x intermedia ‘Pallida’ probably has the strongest scent.
A good way to extract the maximum amount of pleasure from your flowering shrubs at this time of year is to cut a few stems, bring them indoors and display them in a vase. That way you can enjoy the colour and fragrance of the flowers from the comfort (and warmth!) of your armchair.
James Shepherd, Gardener (Decorative and Nursery)