Devoted to daphne

The bewitching scent of daphnes hangs heavy in the winter air, making them an essential plant at this time of year

-  John Hoyland

THOSE few courageous plants that have evolved to brighten grey winter days with colourful flowers tend also to be heavily perfumed, releasing their fragrance to compete for the attention of any pollinators hardy enough to be around. Of the winter-scented shrubs, the stand-out stars are from the genus Daphne. Long-flowering, floriferous and full of fragrance, they are at their best, and most desirable, in the winter and early spring, although some members of the family will provide colour and scent throughout the year.

In the wild, daphnes are native to Europe and Asia and form a family of evergreen and deciduous shrubs that range from squat hummocks a few inches tall to magnificent specimens that reach 6 feet ft tall. The blooms are formed of clusters of small tubular flowers that create a dome and usually grow on the end of the plant's stems. Botanists will point out that the flowers have no petals and are formed from four coloured sepals, but gardeners will be more interested in their beauty. Some species produce flowers that are greenish-yellow, although, most commonly, they appear in shades of pink and purple. The few that are not fragrant are, unsurprisingly, rarely seen in gardens and bring little to the party, so are probably not worth searching out.