Plant of the week: Viburnum

Handsome, versatile, and in full flower in winter and early spring when there’s little else around: every garden should have a viburnum. Many of the winter flowerers are fragrant – snip a bloom-laden branch in December to bring indoors and fill the house with perfume – and some also have handsome blue, red or black berries.

Many are evergreen and all are more or less maintenance free: just trim back to size if they outgrow their space. Find them a warm, sheltered spot: they’re hardy but the fragrance is brought out best by sunshine and a little shelter. Then sit back and enjoy those exquisite flowers.