Daphne bholua
The scent is the first thing you notice on a still January day. Powerful, sweet, it perfumes the air for yards around the source, a relatively unassuming evergreen shrub Daphne bholua.
Best known for the cultivar 'Jacqueline Postill' (above) the plant is available in a number of forms, reflecting the variation in their natural range in the Himalayas in and around Nepal. Some forms appear to be hardier than others but the other three I'm illustrating here are all hardy in the edge of Dartmoor, Devon, garden, The Garden House. Frost and snow may not be as frequent as further north but are frequent enough to test the hardiness of any plant.
So, pure white 'Alba' thrives on the edge of the birch wood at the far western end of the garden, scenting the approach to the Acer glade, while closer to the house 'Garden House Enchantress' (below) with a faint pink blush to the clusters of tubular flowers provides fragrance to the garden entry area.
Meanwhile the pinker 'Garden House Sentinel' (below) stands at the western end of the Wisteria bridge. Now a substantial shrub the fragrance is delightful.
Hardy, relatively tolerant of any soil that remains moist but well drained these are superb shrubs for a sheltered position where the fragrance can linger on the winter air. There is only one downside. All parts of the plant are toxic if eaten and pruning does require gloves to avoid skin irritation.
Note: This post has been edited to include the photo of 'Garden House Sentinel' and replace the photo of 'Jacqueline Postill'.
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