THE rich scents of spring, quicken the blood, catching us unaware, bringing pleasing surprise as we go about mundane affairs. The flowers on Azara microphylla are slight, almost imperceptible tiny yellow stars held tightly and secretly among the shiny, dark, green leaves. The unexpected wafts of vanilla fragrance caused passersby to peer more closely, savouring the moment.
It is an ideal plant to place near gate, a door or within reach of a path for that spring bonus which the equal of the best vanilla pod. A free-standing shrub, the azara can reach up to 15 and more, (feet in height. Fortunately it will not sprawl too much and is refined enough in its habit, making it useful as a wall specimen.
On a different scale, daphne makes a worthy showing and justifies a little effort. Most of us are familiar with the European Daphne mexereum. Here the richly-scented flowers are held on bare stems in February and March, clustered close to the branches. The usual colouring is a purplish red and as a pleasant change there is a white form - more creamy than snow white. A mature shrub will make a sturdy, rounded hummock three or four feet high.
These are not always the easiest shrubs to please; wilful plants they like to suit themselves and are generally resentful of root disturbance. So they should not be hiked about the garden at their owner's whim. Newly-bought plants should be taken from the container very carefully, and it is worth remembering that they like a cool, retentive soil. Annoyingly, they often dislike being fussed over, and a plant which seemed settled for a few years can quite suddenly decide to pack it in.
My most successful plants have been self-sown and I am content to let a young plant make its home where it will within reason. The flowers do not seem to mind the frost and they just bounce back after a cold night. In June and July the berries appear and these are poisonous. This point is worth remembering. The usual colour is red and very showy, they are held in profusion on the stems. The white flowered form has yellow berries.
Daphne odora is even more scented, although not quite as hardy as D. mezereum. So I would not suggest it for the most exposed places. This time the shrub is evergreen and can make a neat plant about four feet high. A native of China, it has been in cultivation for over 200 years yet is scarce enough in gardens.
A variegated form is said to be slightly hardier and it actually makes a very pleasing shrub, with dark green, lanceolate, leathery leaves thinly margined with creamy yellow. The variegation is tasteful and discreet, not at all brash and loud as is so often the case. A class act you might say. The flowers are a reddish purple, and held densely at the terminals of the twigs. Its name is Daphne odora "Aureo-marginata".
Daphne bholua I have mentioned before but it is so good that I could happily write a litany about it. There are different forms around and they come from the Himalayas. There are deciduous and evergreen forms and it 15 generally agreed that the deciduous are hardier. In habit this makes a narrow graceful shrub up to six or seven feet high and about two or three feet in diameter. Again, small reddish purple flowers cause heads to turn approvingly and admiringly in February and March. It is a winner.
In shady places I am sometimes pleased by Daphne laureole. A small evergreen shrub, it seems to seed about fairly freely and like other daphnes it does not transplant very easily. The flowers are not showy - a greenish yellow and they draw attention with their scent. A European native, it can be a useful evergreen for planting in shady places under trees or large shrubs although not many gardeners bother with it.