I wrote yesterday of our daphne drowning out the scent of the witch hazel with its own intense fragrance. Daphne bholua "Jacqueline Postill" truly is the perfect winter shrub. Festooned in blossom at present, in bud it is a dark raspberry, opening out to a very pale pink with each flower in the balled clusters possessing a tiny yellow eye. Standing at some 10ft it enjoys a sunny position in our garden, the light sandy soil providing the drainage it requires. It originates in Nepal, hence its common name of Nepalese paper plant and its hardiness. Our specimen was in flower before Christmas and although the literature refers to it flowering in late winter, our ten year old shrub is always in flower for the new year. As for the fragrance ... let me say it is a heady uplifting clove-like scent that carries well throughout the garden. Coach parties travel to our street to feast their nostrils..... I mentioned last year that I gave it a handful or three of limestone chippings to off-set the yellowing of the evergreen leaves. This has worked a treat and I intend to repeat the exercise after flowering.
Does the plant handle filtered sun / shade
ReplyDeleteYes. It is protected in our garden by a beech hedge and other treesand shrubs, though it is also in the warmest part of the garden where it gets sun most of the day. In fact I was intending to post a photograph of it taken yesterday, full of blossom and fragrance. I have seen other daphnes but they are not as fragrant and certainly not as laden with flowers. My favourite shrub.
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