Winter flowering

Daphne odora ‘Aureomarginata’ A compact, evergreen shrub with narrow, oval, leathery green leaves, finely edged with gold. More vigorous than the plain-leaved species. Fragrant flowers appear in winter and early spring, dark, purple-pink in bud, opening paler. 1m. RHS H4, USDA 7a-9b. D. bholua ‘Spring Herald’ Clusters of deliciously fragrant, creamywhite flowers open at the tips of the shoots from pale-pink buds in late winter. Bushy and rounded in habit, it is semi-evergreen and loses foliage in cold weather. 1.8m. RHS H4, USDA 7a-9b. D. mezereum f. alba A deciduous shrub with upright stems and small, narrow green leaves. The starry, highly fragrant flowers cluster on stems in winter before the leaves appear, and are often followed by yellowish berries. Needs chalk soil to thrive. 90cm. RHS H4, USDA 4a-7b. D. bholua ‘Peter Smithers’ An evergreen or semi-evergreen shrub. In midwinter, clusters of deep, purple-pink buds open to paler blooms, which then become darker with age. Selected at RHS Wakehurst Place from seed Sir Peter Smithers collected in Nepal. 1.8m. RHS H4, USDA 7a-9b.

D. odora Rebecca (= ‘Hewreb’) A surprisingly robust form of D. odora with green leaves, boldly edged with creamy gold. A showy foliage plant it has the bonus of fragrant winter flowers. A better garden plant than previous cultivars with a similar variegation. 1m. RHS H4, USDA 7a-9b. D. bholua ‘Limpsfield’ Rich purple-pink flower edges merge into white faces Blooming from midwinter and heavily fragrant, it is a good evergreen shrub to grow close to the house in a sheltered position. 1.8m. RHS H4, USDA 7a-9b. D. bholua ‘Darjeeling’ A semi-evergreen shrub with tan-coloured stems and pointed mid-green leaves. Clusters of fragrant, pale-pink flowers, which fade to white, appear from early winter. The original was raised at RHS Wisley from seed collected in Darjeeling. 1.8m. RHS H4, USDA 7a-9b. D. mezereum A small shrub with deep-purple flowers, followed by scarlet berries, on shoots produced the previous season. Avoid large, imported stock and plant small, seed-raised plants if possible. Only grows well on chalk. 90cm. RHS H4, USDA 4a-7b. D. bholua var. glacialis ‘Gurkha’ A hardy, deciduous daphne; upright and vigorous with flexible tan-coloured stems. Clusters of richly scented, purplish-pink flowers appear at the tips of the shoots from late winter into early spring. 1.8m. AGM. RHS H4, USDA 7a-9b. D. odora ‘Walberton’ A sport of D. odora ‘Aureomarginata’ with larger flower clusters; pale pink opening from red-pink buds and sweetly fragrant. The dark-green leaves are edged with creamy gold. An excellent evergreen to grow in semi-shade. 1m. RHS H4, USDA 7a-9b.