Winter Flowers Scent Darren s Diary January 2026

As we head into the new year, some of the more interesting scented plants come into flower at this time of year. One that you wouldn't necessarily notice so much from the flower, but perhaps more from the scent, is Lonicera Fragrantissima. It's a wonderful sweet scent, probably one of the best scents, and it carries really nicely, especially if you get a bit of sunshine. We've got several different sort of areas that are planted up with Lonicera Fragrantissima. We've got some down at over by Alice's seat, so worth seeking out as you head around the garden, and the scent will draw you to it. So winter stem interest is always a great thing to have in the garden at this time of year. It just gives that sort of lift with these lovely sort of colors. This one's Betula Albocenensis China Rose, and it has this lovely sort of peeling bark, which gets sort of paler, almost white down below. And the younger branches are more of a sort of cinnamon color, so a nice contrast to this lovely white stem. If you're looking for a little bit of bright color, sort of vivid foliage, and lovely pink flowers, unusual obviously to have this sort of color at this time of year, this is a great evergreen. This one's Lauripetellum Firedance. This can actually be seen flowering just as your headlong radiated path. So it has a really nice sort of contrast with this purple foliage, and these bright pink feathery flowers. It's actually a member of the same family as the Witch Hazel, hence it flowering at this time of the year. One plant that's always worth seeking out at this time of year, the Tibuchina. This one's flowering just as you head along radiated path below Alice's seat. It's an absolute stunner. It flowers for several months, so forgive me for mentioning it in previous posts, but it's one of those plants you really do need to find. It looks absolutely glorious. So probably second only to the Lonicera Fragrantissima for scent and power of scent, is Sarcococca. Sarcococca Confusa, or the Christmas Box as it's commonly known. It's covered in buds, just starting to break now, so the scent will carry for many, many, many meters. It's one of those plants that really does fill the air, especially when you get a bit of warmth. It also produces a nice blackberry, which is still hanging on here, so it gives that added interest. They're generally fertile, so you'll often get those dropping to the floor, starting to grow, and you'll have young seedlings appearing. I always think the Gunnera plantation is one of those areas that looks interesting all the year round, really. At this time, obviously they're in their winter slumber. If you get a cold morning, you'll get the mist hanging around them, a very primordial look. It's almost like a battleground in a way, but it'll soon come to life. Once we get into March, we'll start to get those leaves forming, and it'll just romp away from then on. Probably one of the happiest and cheeriest plants at this time of the year, as you head through into the new year, are the Camellias. This is inspiration, has a really vivid flower, really hits you from afar. The Camellias are also proving to be quite a good choice for our drier summers that we're getting as well. They seem to tolerate drought because of this sort of waxy leaf, which helps lock in the moisture, so they don't dry out so much. And even with the dry summer we had last year, we've still got lots and lots of flower buds. Quite often when you get plant stress, they lose the flower, but the Camellias seem to be quite tolerant of that. So it's a good choice going forward, whereas Rhododendrons seem to be a little less able to adapt to that, whereas the Camellias are perfect for that. If you want to see the Camellias in all their glory, Camellia Walk is the place to be. There are others scattered around, but there is a big concentration in this area, and one that's particularly pretty is Dr Tinsley, just flowering on the path just above, as you head down towards Foxpath. It's a really pretty mix of pink and white, with those delicate yellow stamens in the middle. Another rather nice Camellia flowering on Camellia Walk is Camellia Williamsii, or Cross Williamsii, Jennifer Carlyon. It's got quite a sort of bold, large flower, really stands out with these stamens in the middle, and a lovely glossy green sort of long elongated leaf. Another fantastic Camellia for us, and one that's probably a little bit more rare in cultivation, is Camellia Macdonald Seedling. It has these really sort of dark red flowers and petals, with these sort of veining which really stands out, and these wonderful stamens which are really really bold. You can see these flowering all the way along Camellia Walk in various different locations, but just at the start by the visitor centre, it's probably one of the best specimens. Quite often some of the more challenging areas in the garden are areas that are sort of shaded out, especially in the summer months, but the bonus with under-planting deciduous trees is that you get obviously the light when you need it at the right time of the year, for certain bulbs in particular, and certain corms. So this is Cyclamen Cuam, it has a really really pretty sort of leaf, which you can see with those sort of patination on it, but at this time of year it has these lovely deep pink flowers. You can also get a white form as well, so depending on which you prefer, a really good plant as I say for understory planting under deciduous trees.