For Fabulous Fragrance Plant A Mahonia

When it comes to scent in the winter garden mahonias are ahead by a nose, but which options are best suited to an average-sized plot? Hazel Sillver can help you to decide

- Hazel Sillver

PRIZED for their ability to add much-needed colour and interest, many winter flowers come with an added bonus – knockout fragrance. With the right plants, late November and December can be a real treat for the nose (as well as the eyes) as winter-blooming shrubs fill the chill, still air with their irresistibly delicious perfumes.

Scent has to be dominant at this time of year to entice pollinators out of their cosy winter hideaways, luring them to the flowers. And few plants are more adept at this sensory seduction than mahonias.

Walking down the road, I’ve been stopped in my tracks by the scent of these special shrubs wafting over from someone’s front garden. Further inspection reveals a glossy evergreen, crowned with an explosion of yellow flowers that resemble a punk hairdo.

These exude a perfumer scent of lily of the valley and lemon sherbet.

The mahonia more than earns its place in our plots. Not only is it happy in shade, but its leaves also take on ruddy hues in autumn and winter, and it produces berries that attract wildlife and flowers when very little else is in bloom. It's no wonder that the mahonia has become a true garden stalwart. It’s hardy, too – most species grown in the UK will still thrive after frost.

Mahonias belong to the barberry family (Berberidaceae), which also includes berberis and epimedium, and hail from America and Asia. By and large, the American species are dense and spreading, with clusters of flowers in spring. Their Asian relatives are usually more upright shrubs that display their blooms in a dramatic shuttlecock shape from November through to March.

The most widely grown American mahonia is M. aquifolium (the Oregon grape). It’s one of the least exciting mahonias, but one of the most common. A useful ground-cover plant – especially in the shade – it has become a standard feature in many supermarket car parks.