Viburnum x bodnantense ‘Dawn’ in Temple Fortune, North London

Dear Readers, there are not many scented flowers that bloom in winter time, and so those that do are all the more precious, both to humans who could do with something to lift their mood, and any bumblebees who pop out from hibernation in order to get some nectar to fuel them through the rest of the winter. Here are a few of my favourites.

First up is Viburnum x bodnantense ‘Dawn’ – the scent from this shrub can be discerned from metres away, and the flowers start off as deep-pink buds, before fading through all shades of pink to white.

Then there’s Winter Honeysuckle, another bumblebee favourite. The fresh lemony scent of this plant is fragrant enough to be discerned even on a frosty day.

Winter-flowering Honeysuckle (Lonicera fragrantissima) with bumblebee

And then there’s this inconspicuous plant, known as Christmas Box.  I’ve wandered past it, sniffing the air and trying to work out where the scent was coming from. There’s a whole hedge of it in one of the County Roads, and for a few weeks every December it really cheers me up.

Christmas Box (Sarcococca hookerii)

And how about some Daphne? This is another deliciously-scented garden plant, one to pop into a pot as close to a door as you can, so that you can get a whiff every time you step outdoors. It is a very poisonous plant, though the berries are the most dangerous part – beware if you have small children who might be tempted to try them (though apparently they taste disgusting, so hopefully this would put most people off).

Daphne odora

For many people, the real queen of winter-flowering scented plants is Witch Hazel. The combination of scent and those strange stringy flowers is a real winner, but this is a very slow-growing plant, hence its prohibitive cost. Still, it is a real beauty, especially on a frosty morning when the twigs are painted with ice. The plant is wind-pollinated, so there’s no real pollinator value, but it is still a cracker.

Witch Hazel (Hamamelis mollis)

And finally, there’s Mahonia. I didn’t think of this as a scented plant, but if you pass a large shrub there’s a delicious honeyed fragrance. Plus, Mahonia is relatively cheap in all its varieties, tolerates low temperatures and is a tremendous favourite with bumblebees, whilst I’ve seen Great and Blue Tits pecking at the flowers for nectar, and a variety of birds eating the berries. I would say that it’s always worth having a Mahonia in the garden, particularly if you live in the south of England where bumblebees are often coming out of hibernation earlier, and even keeping their colonies going right through the winter.

Mahonia aquifolium

So, Readers, do you have a favourite winter-flowering plant?

And just a reminder to UK readers of the BSBI New Year Plant Hunt, which runs from 29th December to 1st January inclusive. A great excuse to get out for a walk after all the feasting, and if you happened to pass a country pub en route, well, so much the better.