Fragrant winter
Flowers with aromatic foliage add a lot to a garden, especially in colder times, writes David Overend.
Summer and its heady scents are long gone but there’s no reason why gardeners can’t enjoy a fragrant winter. How many people actually grow trees, shrubs and flowers for their perfume rather than for just their appearance? If looks are everything, you’re likely to be missing a lot.
Many plants produce scented flowers, but some are also renowned for their aromatic foliage rather than their showy blooms.
It seems a shame to ignore them when, in their oh-so-subtle way, they can add so much to the garden.
Dwell on that thought while we contemplate showy shrubs which come not only with eye-catching flowers and fine foliage, but have the added attraction of being packed with fragrance.
There are surprisingly many from which to choose; in fact, far too many to list here, but if you want something sensory and eyecatching, look first at the firm favourites, those that rarely if ever fail to produce the goods year after year.
Some may grow too tall, be too small, too wide or just not be your cup of tea, but, hopefully, a few will be ideal for enhancing parts of the garden that need a new look. Apart from the obvious starters, such as honeysuckle, lilac and several viburnums and mahonias, there are the likes of the butterfly bush, Buddleia davidii, Clethra ainifolia, Choisya ternata, beautiful Broom (Cytisus), lavenders and, of course, all those wonderful roses, several of which are still blooming as December approaches.
And for winter itself, there are the likes of Viburnum x bodnantense, Hamamelis (witch hazel) Chimonanthus praecox (wintersweet), Mahonia (Oregon grape) and Sarcococca (sweet box).
There are quite a lot of herbs which would be more than happy to be offered a home in a south-facing spot where they can mingle without feeling overawed by their neighbours. Their success depends very much on soil and situation – and whether you would consider them suitable for your planting scheme.
Most herbs have the benefit of being able to withstand arid times; in fact, some produce stronger fragrances when they are in poor, dry soil and the British climate is unseasonably Mediterranean.
And, of course, many have the additional benefit of being useful in the kitchen, so there’s some food for thought.