Plants for the senses - ideas for a scented winter garden

January is renowned as one of the quietest months of the year for interest in English gardens.

One thing that makes the January garden really special though are scented winter flowers. When there is little for our visual senses scent can really make an impact and be a welcome and surprising bonus on cold winter days in the garden.

There is nothing like walking down a pavement and being assailed by a delicious smell that makes us stop in our tracks, and wonder where it's coming from. When designing a planting scheme for a front garden it is for this very reason I always try to include something scented for winter.

There is the added bonus that winter flowers are a crucial source of pollen for bees when they emerge on warmer winter days.

If you're looking for ideas to create a scented winter garden, here are a small selection of sweetly scented winter blooms for Sevenoaks gardens:

Sarcococca scented winter flowers

Scented sarcococca flowers

Sarcococca

Sarcococca is generally an unassuming evergreen shrub but come January its strongly scented white flowers make this a winter garden must-have. The flowers are unassuming - sometimes you have to look hard to see where the scent is coming from - but these scented garden shrubs are really special at this time of year.

Sarcococca confusa is a taller, bigger shrub where you have lots of space. For something smaller, go for Sarcococca var. humilis, a dwarf version ideal for smaller beds or groundcover.

Hamamelis - 'Witch hazel'

Lots of use have heard of witch hazel, although most of use are more familiar with it in the medicine cabinet at home - its leaves and its bark have medicinal properties such as reducing swelling and fighting bacteria.

However, these shrubs - which go largely unnoticed for most of the year, have beautiful spidery flowers in January, some with a gorgeous scent.

Hamamelis can be used as a structural shrub in a garden border, or grown as a small ornamental tree.

Hamamelis pallida is a yellow flowering strongly scented garden shrub. Hamamelis mollis and Hamamelis x intermedia 'Diane' are other great varieties to try.

Chimomanthus praecox

Chimomanthus, also known as 'wintersweet' is a great winter scented shrub.

Yellow bell shaped flowers stained with maroon at the centre, they appear on bare stems from November to March.

In summer this leafy green shrub is an unassuming backdrop to other garden plants.

Daphne odora

Daphne odora is a small evergreen garden shrub whose strong scent makes a big impact in January until March.

Pink buds open to white flowers against the glossy green leaves of this shrub.

The scent can be very strong, so well worth growing. Although the plant grows slowly and is generally a small rounded shrub, it can grow to around 1.5m height and spread.

Viburnum x bodnantense 'Dawn'

This beautiful Viburnum has clusters of pretty pink flowers, opening from pink buds from November through to March once established.

This is a low maintenance deciduous shrub with flowers on bare stems in winter.

This plant has the added bonus of some lovely leaf colour - bronze tinted early leaves, green in summer, graduating to burgundy in autumn.

If you would like help with how to incorporate scent into your Sevenoaks garden do get in touch. I can suggest plants that will thrive in your specific garden conditions and provide interest throughout the year.

If you would like help with how to incorporate scent into your Sevenoaks garden do get in touch. I can suggest plants that will thrive in your specific garden conditions and provide interest throughout the year.