Winter Fresh

“Who doesn’t love a daphne?” exclaimed a delighted client when I included a couple in her planting scheme. Daphnes are perhaps the most sought-after flowering shrubs. Prized for their delicate, deliciously fragrant flowers, they are well-mannered plants but can often be challenging to grow. They are not the easiest subjects for nurserymen to produce either, and it’s for this reason that they often carry a higher price tag – a factor that seems to make them all the more desirable.

There are about 90 species of daphne and numerous cultivars, although relatively few