The power of winter scent

I think I garden with my nose. Scent is such an important part of gardening for me, and while it’s undeniably wonderful to catch their fragrance in the warmth of the sunshine, scented plants are never more needed than on a rather miserable grey day like today.

There’s something about a short walk around the garden collecting fragments of perfume as you squelch along the lawn, which is totally mood altering. Maybe it's the literal act of breathing deeply to inhale their scent. Maybe it’s that even in the depths of winter many of them, like the Hamamelis (Witch Hazel) Lonicera fragrantissima (Winter honeysuckle) and Chimonanthus praecox (Wintersweet) flower resolutely on their bare twigs which feels so self-assured and brave in a cold damp world. Maybe its the ones like Sarcococca and Daphne, which you can smell from metres away and draw you out into the fresh air, which as my children are bored of hearing, will always make you feel better. 

Don’t get me wrong, I adore the scent of every season - in fact I am totally obsessed by it year round - but there is something about winter scent which moves me in a particular way that even a summer full of exquisite roses doesn’t quite top.

Here are five shrubs which stopped me in my tracks today:

1. Hamamelis x intermedia ‘Jelena’

These straggly punk like blooms are an extraordinary colour, almost neon orange on a dull day. It has a sweet peppery scent. I also have Hamamelis mollis which is perhaps even stronger and has crazy bright yellow flowers.

Hamamelis x intermedia 'Jelena'. Incredible colour and a peppery scent.

2. Chimonanthus praecox

   Such a heady exotic scent, it reminds me of the smell of Frangipani I discovered on travelling in Asia. This didn't flower much last year so I'm particularly happy to see these flowers.

Chimonanthus praecox (Wintersweet). The branches only bear a few flowers this year but every one is a gem.

3. Sarcococca confusa

   Often shoved in car parks but not to be underestimated for it's glorious glossy foliage and incredible sweet scent. Being evergreen it's a very useful plant in the garden and in flower arranging, and often has these wonderful glossy berries too.

Sarcococca confusa - you can smell from several metres away

4. Mahonia x intermedia 'Charity'

   Another maligned shrub - it looks nothing all year long, and it's spiky leaves are often rather unpopular but I can forgive it all of that for its wonderful racemes of yellow flowers, which smell like Lily of the Valley on a winter's day.

The flowers of Mahonia are almost like laces of little yellow bells

5. Daphne bholua 'Jacqueline Postill'

   This must be the queen of the winter garden. Her scent comes from right across the other side of the garden and the abundant flowers will go on for several months starting before Christmas until February and beyond. It has a higher scent than the Chimonanthus maybe more like Jasmine or Stephanotis, and if you bash the stems it will last pretty well in a tiny bud vase.

Daphne has one of the strongest scents of all

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Pruning: 5/6 February 2026

Sweet Peas: 26/27 February 2026

Dahlias: 12/13 March 2026

Making a cut-flower garden: 19/20 March 2026