PLANT OF THE WEEK

Winter Sweet

THERE aren’t many shrubs in flower right now, but wintersweet (Chimonanthus praecox) is one of the best. An uncommon deciduous shrub that flowers from December to March, it has pale yellow flowers with a rich, spicy scent.

It’s happy in any reasonable garden soil but it prefers a sunny situation – and since it can reach eight feet in each direction, the best way to grow it in a small garden is trained flat against a wall.