Amateur Gardening – 29 June 2019

28 AmAteur GArDeNING 29 JUNE 2019

D

uring the crisp, cold months
of autumn and winter, it is not
only the sight of flowers that
can lift our spirits – but also
their smell. As we shiver our way from
the car to the front door, inhaling the
fragrance of plants like viburnum,
daphne, witch hazel or snowdrops
makes winter seem suddenly less brutal.
While most people are familiar with
the classic spring and summer scents
of a garden – lilac, rose and lilies, for
instance – the perfumes of autumn and

winter are less celebrated. But they

definitely earn their place. When most

plants are fast asleep under the frozen

ground, the white starry flowers of the

winter honeysuckle are exuding their

ambrosial perfume, and the bright-

yellow blooms of mahonia fill the air with

a scent reminiscent of lily of the valley.

Large or small

These winter fragrance stars should

be planted now to allow their roots to

establish. if you have room to spare,

consider evergreen Camellia sasanqua

‘narumigata’, whose pink autumn

blooms have a delicate tea scent, or opt

for a large winter-flowering shrub that

can be trained into a small tree – good

options are Viburnum x bodnantense

‘Dawn’ or the intensely fragrant witch

hazel, Hamamelis x intermedia ‘Aurora’.

At the other end of the scale in terms

of size, snowdrops in sufficient numbers

will fill the air with a delicious honey-like

aroma. Choose from Galanthus nivalis

(the common snowdrop), the greater

snowdrop (Galanthus elwesii) or the

variety ‘Peardrop’. Also needing little

space is Iris unguicularis ‘Walter Butt’,

the winter-flowering Algerian iris. You’ll

find its fragrant pale-lavender flowers

bloom best in stony soil at the base of

a warm, sheltered wall.

Then there’s fragrant sweet box

The highly scented yellow flowers of Edgeworthia

chrysantha are one of the highlights of late winter

Positioned within sniffing distance, scented autumn and winter plants add a warm glow

to cold days. From modest to massive, there are options for all plots, says Hazel Sillver

Frost and fragrance

Burncoose 8 burncoose.co.uk & 01209 860316

Crocus 8 crocus.co.uk & 01344 578111

Junker’s Nursery 8 junker.co.uk & 01823 400075

Where to buy