PLANT OF THE WEEK

If your garden needs a midwinter pickme-up, white forsythia, or Abeliophyllum distichum, is a great choice.

This unusual deciduous wall shrub has a delicious fragrance that some people say reminds them of almonds or marzipan. Plant it somewhere sheltered so the wind won’t disperse the scent.

The flowers are forsythia-like in size and shape, but white to pale pink in colour with a centre filled with gold stamens. Left to its own devices, the shrub is quite floppy and straggly, so it’s best trained flat against a wall. It can reach 8ft by 8ft, although you can easily prune it to fit the available space.

Its season of glory runs from now (depending on the severity of the winter) until late March, during which time each stem will be lined with flowers.

Abeliophyllum isn’t difficult to grow – all it needs is reasonably well-drained soil and full sun. And since it conveniently has only a thin covering of leaves in summer, its branches make the ideal support framework for a summerflowering clematis (one of the sort that is cut back hard in winter).