Scented flowers of February
For deep winter, you also want sarcococcas. These are brilliant for a more restricted shady space, and Karan highlights S. ruscifolia 'Dragon Gate’, which was collected by Roy Lancaster in China. It has a much smaller leaf than even S. hookeriana var. humilis and grows into a very compact little shrub, but still with the same wonderful scented flowers. All the sarcococcas are the classic plants you can tuck into an out-of-the-way corner, filling a shady space where many others would not thrive. From there they can pour out their scent across hedges and over walls, so as you walk in and out of their fragrant cloud you are looking around trying to spot the plant that is the perfume factory.
Coming into flower in a few weeks’ time is Azara microphylla, with a scent of pure vanilla and small, insignificant flowers among evergreen leaves.
Nick Macer also raves about Azara petiolaris, which smells like A. microphylla but has more interesting leaves that are larger and shiny with a slight crinkling to their edge. The azaras are on the tender side, so are safest trained on to a wall with a north, east or west aspect. You want to keep them out of the morning sun, which can be dangerous if it gets at the flowers too early after a frosty night, turning them brown.
