I love wandering around gardens in winter seeing them stripped back to their bare structure; it allows me time to look around my own garden and think have I got the bones, the core architecture of the garden right and to get inspiration from other gardens to add more seasonal interest. There are some amazing shrubs that can provide strong architectural elements all year round with incredible scented flowers that fill the air as you meander towards them.

For larger spaces or where a specimen to create a focal point would look great shrubs such as Daphne bholua ‘Jacqueline Postill’ (an evergreen form of Daphne) with deep pink buds opening to pale pink flowers or Chimonanthus praecox a fairly upright shrub with yellow flowers with deep red-purple centres (‘Luteus’ is a more spreading form of the shrub). Hamamelis (witch hazel) provides some really vibrant colours, from the deep red of Hamamelis x intermedia ‘Diane’, to the burnt orange of ‘Jelena’ to the yellows of Hamamelis mollis. For stronger scents the yellow of ‘Arnold Promise’ or ‘Pallida’ or the delicate orange of ‘Orange Peel’, which is meant to smell like marmalade – one I’m really looking forward to being able to see and inhale in a nursery or garden.

Winter interest shrubs

Where there is less space or maybe planting a grouping medium sized shrubs include Edgeworthia chrysantha (paper bush) with flowers that start off as white/cream increasing the yellow at the tips or the winter flowering honeysuckles, Lonicera x purpusii with its delicate white flowers, ideally grown near a path or seating area to be able to make the most of the scent. Abeliophyllum distichum has a vanilla scent with pretty white flowers that also comes in a pink form, it also works well as a wall trained shrub giving some much needed cover in winter.

Sarcococca confusa (Christmas box) is a smaller growing shrub with tiny white flowers, great grown near a path or used to create a hedge. My personal favourites are the purple stemmed varieties, Sarcococca hookeriana var. digyna ‘Atropurpureum’ (or Purple Stem) or ‘Winter Gem’. Or the mound forming Skimmia’s, Skimmia x confusa ‘Kew Green’ makes a change from the more usual pink forms with its green buds open up to white flowers.

Winter bulbs

However small the space this is always room for a few bulbs, Cyclamen will flower from the late autumn variety of Cyclamen hederifolium through to the winter and early spring variety of Cyclamen coum from the delicate whites and pinks to the deep magenta of Cyclamen coum ‘Rubrum’. Planted underneath trees and shrubs they will add small jewel like pops of colour. To create a woodland feel under a tree(s) or shrubs plant the buttercup yellow of winter flowering aconites (Eranthis hyemalis) or a carpet of snowdrops (Galanthus nivalis), it only needs a few to be planted as they will multiple over the years.

In the end it all comes down to choosing your favourite colour or scent.