You’ll be glad this time next year, if this Spring you plant these scented shrubs I’ve pictured, preferably in your front garden area.
There are some wonderful smells down our front path right now. That’s because over the years I have planted shrubs for just that purpose and they come into their own now.
Scented snowdrops or miniature iris in a pot are all very well to sniff at but if you want your whole garden to smell like a perfume shop then these shrubs below will do the job.
Here are some to choose from:
Sarcococca
You can see here the size of the shrub and how close it is to the path.
See below how tiny the flowers are but their scent fills the whole garden from December through to March.
Sarcococca aka Sweet Box
These tiny white flowers fill the whole front garden with a lovely scent of vanilla/honey/marshmallow.
Viburnum
Viburnum x bodnantense “Dawn”
Yes it’s currently a stick with pink flowers on it but those pink flowers smell fantastic and give scent as you walk down the path. That’s why it’s there. Again the smell is of sweet vanilla marshmallow.
It’s nothing to look at admittedly but you can’t have everything.
Lonicera- winter honeysuckle
This is the best most fantastic winter scent shrub. It’s ugly, it’s ungainly, it’s spready, it’s woody but I think it’s what gardening is all about.
Lonicera purpusii “Winter Beauty” or similar variety
See, not much to look at, in fact quite a messy jumble of twiggy growth by the pavement under a fir tree invaded by common euphorbia at ground level.
But look at these tiny flowers hiding under the boring leaves.
Heavenly scented flowers sheltered by the leaves
Those tiny flowers give off a honeysuckle scent in the middle of winter however cold it gets and that scent wafts to passers by who wonder where it’s coming from. Different varieties might flower at slightly different times thru the winter and may be bigger or smaller but they are all fabulous and easy to buy. We have another one right by the front door.
Just don’t expect it to be a beautiful specimen plant. It’s basically a tangle of twigs but every garden could benefit from it.
Dahlias and roses
will have their time in the sun later on but right now, these scented shrubs lift spirits and give such joy to us, to visitors and to passers-by. You can buy them mail order, plant them in the Spring and you’ll be enjoying them next winter.
Here’s to a lovely gardening year for us all in 2020. A great place to buy shrubs from is burncoose.co.uk
And here is what I wrote about in the garden this time last year.
Three great suggestions for the winter garden, all of which I now have in my garden. I’d also add Daphne Odora ‘Aureomarginata’ which has been in bud since December and is now beginning to flower and release its fabulous perfume. It’s a tad early this year, due to the mild conditions here in West Sussex, but it will continue to flower for weeks!
Oh lovely to hear you have the shrubs too and gosh I envy you your Daphne. I’ve found them very hard to keep. I have one small one languishing in the back garden not doing much but a neighbour has a huge fantastic pink one that fills the street with its scent. I’ve heard they are quite tricky and either thrive or don’t. Lucky you having a good one and thanks for your comment.