Michael is passing on the blogging reigns for a bit as he is busy gearing up towards the fast approaching time of year all us gardeners have been waiting for. I scarcely believe that spring will truly come, and summer in turn- that flowers like Pacific Giant Delphiniums really do exist. I can see them now poking out of the ground, a sign of life from the dormant soil, but a mere nod to their eventual grandeur.

I by the way am Rohanna Heyes, a member of the Woottens team and among other things am a keen gardener from the far flung reaches of the South Island, New Zealand (it can be far colder than everyone thinks) where I studied Botany for a Bachleor of Science at Otago University. Right now I am dreaming of the flowers I fell for last summer: the black form of cow parsley (Anthriscus sylvestris “Ravenswing”), Pimpenella major Rosea (in form much like a cow parsley with soft pink umbels), Knautia macedonia, Gaura lindheimeri, Erigeron karvinskianus, Nepeta “Walkers Low”, Eryngium “Sapphire blue” and Echinops “Veitchs Blue”. The options are endless really when I look round the nursery these are but a few, and what better time is there than the present to start planning for summers bounty.

Meanwhile there are actually many wonderful plants that are grabbing attention right now, and one that cannot be passed with out a pause to inhale its beautiful fragrance is of course Daphne odora Aureomarginata. Daphne odora is a slow growing evergreen shrub (semi-evergreen in England) that hails from Eastern Asia. All Daphne’s prefer to be left alone once planted, so take time to choose the right spot. Daphne odora needs a free draining soil fertile soil, and prefers not to be pruned (taking a few sprigs of the delicious scent inside now and then is about all that is required). The D. odora cultivar Aureomarginata, is generally considered the hardiest and is at home in a border or in an informal woodland, but is perhaps best at an entrance way, where its fragrance can be more often appreciated. Red berries follow flowers.

On the nursery we also have the perhaps more exotic Daphne bholua “Jacquelline Postill” also known as the Nepalese paper plant after the production of paper and rope from its bark. It is particularly noted for its intensely fragrant flowers which are slightly larger than those of D. odora, it is bigger in habit too, growing in favourable conditions up to 4m high with a spread of 3m. It is evergreen (though deciduous at altitude in its native environment) with purple black berries following the flowers. It requires a fertile, free draining soil in either light shade to full sun, and is borderline hardy.