Daphne in the winter garden

In midwinter I’ve been enjoying this lovely shrub in George and Judith Baines’ garden, where it has been in full flower for almost two months. It’s Daphne bholua ‘Jacqueline Postill’.

What a delight in midwinter! The sweet spicy scent is so intense it perfumes the air for yards around this plant, so plant it where you’ll pass it often in winter. The flowers are pinkish on the outside and show white insides as they open to 2cms across.

The species comes from the Himalayas where it is part of a group known as the paper daphnes, as both paper and rope were once made from the sinewy bark. RHS describes it as ‘borderline hardy’ and although some of these daphnes are evergreen, Jacqueline Postill seems to lose most of her leaves, enabling her to show off the full display of flowers.