Plant of the month. February

Daphne bhoula ‘Jacqueline Postill’.

The straight species, Daphne bhoula, comes from the Himalayas. Several forms have been introduced since 1938 one being ‘Gurkha’ a very hardy form collected in Nepal in 1962. From this form a seedling was raised by Hillier nurseries propagator, Alan Postill, in 1982 which he named ‘Jacqueline Postill’.

The resulting plant is stunning in all aspects. Evergreen, in Cornwall but can be semi-evergreen elsewhere, flowers when in full leaf which are purplish-pink and white and heavily scented. On an early, still morning at this time of year you can’t help but be almost over powered by the richly scented air that surrounds the plant. One plant can fill your garden with its lovely fragrance. Unlike some varieties Daphne bhoula ‘Jacqueline Postill’ is easy and fairly quick to grow, with no real problems to deal with.

A must for the winter garden. Plant of the month for February but could easily have been for December and January as well because it was in bloom during those months as well.