Unusual Fragrant for March. is a wonderful late winter or early spring flowering or small . It comes from Chile but nevertheless is quite hardy in a sheltered position. It was introduced into England in 1861 by Veitch Nursery, but it was discovered in the eighteenth century by a Spaniard Felix de Azara. It has recently been moved to the willow family, . It has tiny, shiny, evergreen, opposing . The word micro is Greek for small and phyllon is . The shrub looks rather like a large myrtle. The are tiny and insignificant, they have no petals, just stamens and they look like small yellow tufts all down the stem. But the scent is haunting. On a day in early March when there is a breeze it wafts all over the garden. It is pure vanilla to me although some people say it smells of chocolate. There is a lovely creamy- variegated variety of this lovely but I don’t think it is so hardy. If you would like to grow Azara choose a sheltered semi-shaded site and don’t let it dry out. These last few icy winters have blackened the leaves of my tree but it is very resilient and recovers well. Azara is amazingly easy to propagate by taking semi-ripe cuttings in summer.

Azara microphylla

Edgeworthia chrysantha comes from China. It is a gorgeous shrub with fabulously, fragrant clusters of tubular yellow flowers which emerge from furry buds in March. It flowers on naked stems which are very bendy. I hesitate to recommend it, despite its beauty because it is expensive and I have managed to kill it. (Or rather, it perversely died despite my ministrations.) I am not sure that it is entirely frost hardy. Nevertheless I shall try it again, because I adhere to the belief that I can grow anything until I have killed it three times. It requires sun or part-shade, a good rich soil and some protection from the harshest weather. It is worth any effort to grow this shrub and I will certainly try again.

Edgeworthia chrysantha

Ypsilandra thibetica is a clump forming perennial which is quite new to cultivation. It grows from rhizomes and has rosettes of long, thin leaves a bit like those of Lilium candidum. It is a shade loving plant and grows in forests in its native habitat in Tibet or Western China. The panicles of flowers start of white and become lilac; finally as they age they turn cream. They remind me of bottle brushes. The scent is delicious; a combination of violets and sarcococca. This plant is new to me and I’m not sure how hardy it is going to be. If the weather turns really bad I shall try and protect it; it is so lovely I would hate to lose it. If we have another sustained cold, icy spell then perhaps I will lose both my new Edgeworthia and the Ypsilandra but still it is worth a try to grow them. Otherwise I may as well resign myself to sticking with Forsythia or flowering currant, and nice as they are for picking to unfold in the house, they are never going to make anyone’s heart beat a little faster. Besides, my lovely rare Chinese treasures smell delicious whereas Forsythia is scentless, (and let’s face it a bit garish,) and as everyone knows Ribes sanguineum smells of cat pee. Ypsilandra thibetica Liz Wells