^ January and February {%£ 



R. Farrer describes it as growing wild ' only in the small 

 hill range between Shi-ho and Shi-Ja-Jaung.' V. fragrans 

 strikes freely from cuttings. The Japanese witch hazel 

 (Hamamelis arborea) and the Chinese witch hazel 

 (H. mollis) are not exactly scented, but for those who 

 appreciate it there is something very pleasing in the 

 1 dusty ' Eastern perfume of the spider-like yellow 

 blossoms with which they wreathe their branches so 

 fantastically in January and February. Both H. arborea 

 and H. mollis are perfectly hardy. 



For the gardens of the few who can give them warm 

 walls in the most sheltered parts of Great Britain, 

 two scented January-flowering treasures are Edgeworthia 

 chrysantha and Freylinia cestroides. With its globe- 

 shaped head of flowers, ranging from deep butter to 

 cream-colour on the same head (the flowers turn cream- 

 colour as they fade), its sweet scent and the length of time 

 it remains in bloom, E. chrysantha is a most attractive 

 plant, and the buff-coloured flowers of F. cestroides fill 

 the air with fragrance in mid-winter. There are gardens 

 where Acacia dealbata (the ' mimosa ' of Covent Garden) 

 flowers in the open, but as a rule it is only possible 

 to grow this lovely evergreen against a wall in sheltered 

 parts. A. armata one rarely sees growing out of doors, 

 although it is hardier than A. dealbata. Grown indoors, 

 A. armata is, I think, certainly the more attractive of the 

 two. 



Amongst the humble flowers one of the most sweetly 

 scented is the one least frequently seen — Tussilago 

 fragrans. I wonder why this sweet-scented tussilage has 

 gone out of fashion. A hundred years ago, when it was 

 first introduced into England (it is a native of Italy), 



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