Compact shrubs for late winter

Seeing a well-orchestrated display of flowering shrubs adding substance to the vibrant show of bulbs is one of the delights of the early season garden. In smaller gardens some shrubs can outgrow their space after a few years, needing constant pruning to keep them in check, but with more compact, slower-growing varieties this is rarely a problem.

The ones selected here are also compact enough to grow in pots on a patio or set into a border. Containergrown scented types, such as daphne, can also be placed near doorways or on a patio to allow you to experience their delightful sweet scent to the full. Abeliophyllum and forsythia are related, but different in habit, with the former being slender-shooted and more spreading and open in habit. It rarely outgrows its welcome and its white or pale pink flowers in the form ‘Roseum’ are much earlier, appearing from late January into March, with forsythia following on. Most forsythia varieties get out of hand, but ‘Mikador’ is a new compact form (around 1.2m/4ft high and wide) and wellbranched, providing a captivating display of gold flowers. Both plants do well in most well-drained soils in sun and can be pruned back or to shape after they finish flowering.

Daphne ‘Perfume Princess’ is probably the largest-flowered daphne, producing an intoxicating scent from its pink flowers from late January, but rising in a crescendo to spring, and intermittently beyond. Position it in a moist, well-drained soil that doesn’t become droughted in sun or semi-shade.

Ribes laurifolium ‘Mrs Amy Doncaster’ is a more compact form of an unusual flowering currant with leathery, evergreen leaves flowering in March. While happy in a moist, but well-drained spot in sun, it will also thrive in semi-shade and is ideal for training against a wall or fence.