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Scented Plants contd
For more perfume plant Daphne bholua, the upright evergreen daphne that wafts its heady perfume on the winter air. The white flowers are tucked into the foliage but the scent is un-missable.
Another dahpne for winter is D. mezereum. Wonderfully perfumed, carmine pink flowers cluster on the flowering stems.
The wintersweet, Chimonanthus praecox, is another essential for winter fragrance. The translucent, yellowish flowers have a maroon blotch at the base and a wonderful scent that carries across the garden. The form C. p. var luteus has showier flowers but there is not a lot in it. The perfume is what you are after.
More showy is Viburnum x bodnantense 'Dawn'; bright candy pink flowers are massed on a rather angular plant that can reach 2.0-3.0 metres. To prevent the bush becoming bulky, thin the wood out at the base periodically, removing very old or crossing stems. This gives a far more satisfying result than hacking off the top!
V. farreri, one of this plant's parents, is less showy and a softer pink, perhaps more refined that its gaudy off-spring. Both are fragrant.
Snowdrops
Winter flowers cannot be discussed without mention of the snowdrop, Galanthus nivalis, in its myriad forms and relatives. The huge sheets of these tough little bulbs in English gardens and naturalised in beech woods are an unforgettable sight.
More vigorous grass growth and an absence of beech woods mean that snowdrops are more domesticated in New Zealand gardens. Try the English pairing with the marbled leaves of Arum italicum that works so well with the hanging white bells.
Coloured Stems
Until you have seen them glowing in the winter light, it is easy to dismiss growing coloured stems for winter. Placing is key to the success; try them either with the light behind them or to catch the light against a darker background.
Cornus alba 'Sibirica' is a brilliant red, with pretty foliage in summer.
Golden stems can be had with Salix alba vitellina and the white stems of Rubus cockburnianus are also effective. Bergenias will provide masses of deep-red burnished foliage beneath them.
Mahonias
Mahonias are not especially popular, yet in the northern hemisphere they have quite a following. 'Winter Sun' with its strong foliage shapes and masses of yellow flowers is certainly striking and more interesting by far than the older 'holly grapes'.
M. aquifolium is a good ground cover under deciduous trees and has leaves (friendlier than those of their prickly cousins) that turn reddish-bronze in cold weather. Clumps of yellow flowers are held over the leaves.
Subtle Flowers
There are subtle touches in the winter garden that can surprise you. Garrya elliptica is one of the darlings of the winter garden; long, silvery tassels on this tough plant stand out against the dark green leaves and persist for months. It is especially wonderful in dry winter climates as the silver can become grey in persistently damp weather.
The strange hooded flowers of Euphorbia characias subsp wulfenii will bring a splash of chartreuse standing out at a distance and lasting all the winter through.
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Daphne bholua, intensely fragrant
Fragrant Wintersweet, Chimonanthus praecox
Viburnum farreri
Snowdrops, small but exquisite
Cornus alba, bare red stems in winter
Mahonia 'Winter Sun'
Garrya elliptica - silken tassels
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