Choose shrubs for blossom& scent
These delicious flowering shrubs and small trees will raise your spirits on a spring morning
There’s something magical about spring blossom. Somehow it signals the end of winter and several smaller-flowered cherries open their pink or white flowers just as the new growth emerges. A healthy new race of cherries, raised by Japanese breeder Masatoshi Azari, includes one with chocolate-brown foliage and blush-white blossom, prunus ‘Matsumae-fuki’ (‘Chocolate Ice’). ‘Hanagasa’ (‘Pink Parasol’) is equally charming, with spreading branches and double pink flowers. Recent Danish breeding has produced disease-resistant crab apples such as Malus toringo ‘Aros’ with almostblack foliage and raspberry-pink f lowers, each with a hint of white. An abundance of small, deep red fruits follow on this narrow columnar tree. ‘Scarlett’ has deep purple foliage, rich pink blossom and purple fruits. Some magnolias also flower in March, but with the possibility of frost damage, avoid planting in low-lying sites where cold air lingers. ‘Star Wars’ produces wide-open, mid-pink flowers that resist frost due to the gaps between its petals. ‘Susan’ pushes back its bud scales in March and shows a tempting glimpse of warm maroon-pink. Amelanchier lamarckii often provides a delicate waft of white blossom in March, while A. grandiflora ‘Ballerina’ is smothered in soft, blush-white starry f lowers just as the coppery foliage unfurls. Leaves turn green in summer, but fire up to reddish-purple in autumn. Most camellias need acidic soil, so many gardeners containerise them in ericaceous compost. Place in north and west-facing positions to avoid morning sun because an early thaw after frost browns the flowers. Most are evergreen and have showy double, sometimes scented flowers. There are lots of pinks, but oriental reds, such as double ‘Purple Emperor’, ‘Nagasaki’ and single ‘Jupiter’ are more dramatic. Corylopsis pauciflora is another acid lover, which bears lots of primroseyellow flowers in early spring. Shade in summer and water well. A really sheltered south-facing site suits Edgeworthia chrysantha, Chinese paper bush, with yellow roundels of flower shrouded in white, like a lemon with too much pith. Or try exoticlooking Euphorbia mellifera, which billows out, so needs space, but its warm-honey scent is overwhelming. ➤