The under rated scented sweet box

Whenever I enthuse about Sarcoccoca, the sweet box, judy gets a glazed look in her eye which dissolves into a skeptical glint.

It’s true, they’re not the most flamboyant of evergreen shrubs, although the one I saw in flower at the RHS Garden at Wisley a couple of weeks back was very impressive. And the berries last for months, you’ll often find plants with flowers and fruits in their prime at the same time.

But it’s the scent that’s really special, wafting from what, in some species, are flowers hidden by foliage to transform the winter garden. Related to the more familiar box or boxwood, Buxus, with their rather unpleasant smelling flowers – well, you can’t trim a sarcococca into a spiral but it smells delightful.

Sarcococca confusa was the first species I came across, years ago. The fragrance from the hidden creamy flowers on a plant by the entrance to the old Kew Alpine House prompted me to beg a few cuttings. I still keep coming across their descendants in family and friends’ gardens. Here in Pennsylvania, it’s too cold: S. confusa is zone 6 plant.

So in the picture there’s S. hookeriana (also zone 6), brightly showing off its petal-less flowers, the color coming from the creamy stamens. Checking up, I see that this plant has been named ‘Schillingii’ (though that doesn’t look like a valid name, to me), having been collected in Nepal by Tony Schilling, who once ran Kew’s satellite garden at Wakehurst Place in Sussex.

And on the right, the berries of S. confusa still looking good after this winter’s freezing weather - although the foliage seems less resilient to the unexpectedly icy blasts.

So if your climate is suitable, I’d suggest you try any species you can find. And don’t forget to pass them round – you’ll often find self sown seedlings, and you can also often detach small rooted pieces at the base.

In Britain PMA Plant Specialities list eleven types (I’d better get down there as soon as I get back) while in North America, Forest Farm list four types.