gardeningblog

Of all the different types of fragrance emitted by flowering plants, the scent of honey must rank as one of the more unusual. In gardens, it is probably most often encountered in the flowers of the shrubby spurge Euphorbia mellifera and in those of its close cousin, E. stygiana. Given that E. stygiana is native to the Azores, where the climate is described as mild/temperate, this evergreen shrub is surprisingly hardy here in the UK. I grow mine in a fairly cold garden on a north west facing slope on clay soil. On mornings after a hard frost it looks pretty forlorn, the foliage drooping and the whole plant apparently in a state close to death. However, once the temperature rises the foliage perks up again, and so far the plant has suffered no permanent damage. It is worth noting that this is exactly the same thing that happens to the hellebores in my garden - plants with a much hardier reputation.

As referred to earlier, the flowers of E. stygiana give off the delicious aroma of honey. This can be quite strong, detectable at some distance from the plant. I thought it might be interesting to examine what type of insect pollinators this scent might attract, so over the course of a few days I spent some time observing the plant’s visitors. Taking a close look at the flowers of Euphorbia stygiana, it is clear that there are no long tubes down which an insect blessed with a sizable proboscis might search for nectar. This could explain why I saw no butterflies or moths visit the plant (night time observations may reveal otherwise, at least as far as the moths are concerned). So, does the scent fail to register with our native lepidopterans or are they simply not being presented with the type of flower shape that normally attracts them? Perhaps both factors contribute to their absence. The only insects I did see visiting the euphorbia were flies and ants, both of which can be seen in the image on the right.

The shrub itself grows much wider than high. Mine has attained a height of about 1.5m but is comfortably twice this across. It can be propagated from cuttings which, like many of the spurges, take two or three months to root, or more easily from seed. The aforementioned Euphorbia mellifera has the tendency to produce its own offspring around the garden. I have not noticed this trait in E. stygiana yet.

There are some plants which I would always make room for in my own garden, no matter how small that garden might be; and Akebia quinata is one such plant. It is a vigorous, semi-evergreen, twining climber which is great for covering walls or old tree stumps and if left to do its own thing will happily climb to a height of around 12m in a tree or large shrub. I prefer to grow it on the wall next to the front door, so that I might experience a whiff of its scent each time I enter or leave the house during its flowering season.

This comes in April, the flowers hanging in racemes from the leaf axils of the older growths. They are very fragrant, although sometimes their scent can be elusive - undetectable at close range but very strong at a distance. Each flower is either male or female, and in the best selections they are a luscious plum-purple. I have come across plants on which the flowers are much duller, almost a dirty reddish-pink. If you are tempted to have one in your garden, my advice would be to buy one in bloom so that you can judge the quality of the flower colour.

An added bonus which occasionally crops up is the production of edible fruits. These ripen to a deep purple, are sausage-shaped and between 5 and 10cm in length. Cultivation is pretty straightforward, the plant seemingly unfussy about soil type and being of both sun and shade. However, if you want to taste those unusual fruits it would be best to provide your plant with a southerly aspect as warmth and plenty of sunshine are required for ripening.