Wintersweet: a fragrance of the cooler months | In Fiona's Garden

Unobtrusive for much of the year, it comes into its own in freezing July when its tiny, waxy, yellowish-cream flowers with a dark purple throat appear almost overnight on the bare branches and spread their heavenly scent through the garden.

There's plenty of fragrance in the winter garden - I had a lovely time today sniffing evergreen Christmas Box (Sarcocca), jonquils, winter irises (I.unguicularis) and daphne.

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Maybe it's nature's way of compensating us for the dormant weeks when nothing much else happens.

But wintersweet's aroma is something special, it's the most glorious of all, best at dusk when I take a last quick walk, after sunset but before it's quite dark.

Wintersweet is a multi-stemmed, twiggy shrub, about three metres high and wide, with 15 centimetre, dark green leaves turning gold in autumn before falling. It tolerates both acid and alkaline soil and is reasonably drought hardy.

It is extremely cold hardy (to -20 degrees Celsius) but will grow and flowers as far north as Brisbane.

Plants thrive in full sun or the shade of a deciduous tree: mine is happy beneath an old crab apple. Prune if necessary in late winter when the flowers have finished, it re-sprouts quickly even if cut back heavily.

Most nursery plants are raised from seed, though they take a long time to bloom (mine took seven years and stern words from me the preceding summer).

Patient gardeners can collect last season's seeds during early winter, when the pods are clear on bare branches, though it's best to wait till spring to sow them.

They germinate easily. Seed raised plants may show variation in flower: two good forms are 'Grandiflora' with bigger, slightly more colourful flowers, and 'Luteus' which is darker yellow but without the purple centre, and blooms later in winter. These should be propagated by cuttings or layers.

It's the perfect shrub for the back of a bed or an awkward corner, as its appearance doesn't compete with summer performers.

The name Chimonantus comes from Greek kheimon, or winter goddess; the species name praecox means early. It blooms at the start of the year in the northern hemisphere, which is mid rather than early winter here, depending partly where you live. Our garden is about 700 metres and it flowers reliably every year in early July.

Wintersweet came to the west from Japan during the 17th century. It originates from China where it occurs in mountain forests from 500 to 1100 metres, and where it has been cultivated for at least 1000 years.

Lord Coventry imported it to Britain in 1766 for his garden at Croome Court, Worcester, now National Trust. He was evidently a keen gardener and on inheriting his estate he employed well known landscape architect Lancelot 'Capability' Brown to improve the grounds. How lucky are we that his enthusiasm for gardening introduced this beautiful, easy, winter-flowering plant to western gardens for us to enjoy.