Scented flowers of February - Telegraph For deep winter, you also want sarcococcas. These are brilliant for a more restricted shady space, and Karan highlights S. ruscifolia 'Dragon Gate," which was collected by Roy Lancaster in China. It has a much smaller leaf than even S. hookeriana var. humilis and grows into a very compact little shrub, but still with the same wonderful scented flowers. All the sarcococcas are the classic plants you can tuck into an out-of-the-way corner, filling a shady space where many others would not thrive. From there they can pour out their scent across hedges and over walls, so as you walk in and out of their fragrant cloud you are looking around trying to spot the plant that is the perfume factory. Coming into flower in a few weeks" time is Azara microphylla, with a scent of pure vanilla and small, insignificant flowers among evergreen leaves. Nick Macer also raves about Azara petiolaris, which smells like A. microphylla but has more interesting leaves that are larger and shiny with a slight crinkling to their edge. The azaras are on the tender side, so are safest trained on to a wall with a north, east or west aspect. You want to keep them out of the morning sun, which can be dangerous if it gets at the flowers too early after a frosty night, turning them brown. The same is true of Osmanthus delavayi, which grows best with the protection of a cool wall. This has dark green, box-like leaves and a deliciously scented flower in March and April. I love this for early spring picking - the more you cut it, the better it grows - and its scent is sweet and spicy. Nick also recommends: O. yunnanensis. This is not as strongly scented as O. delavayi, but has an interesting perfume which he describes as having a hint of playdough, but still delicious. It will make a substantial 25ft tree in time and overall, Nick says, grows to a much larger and more impressive plant with more interesting leaves than the more widely grown O. delavayi. Hamamelis - in all its guises - stands at the top of these shrub specialists" late-winter lists (see Gardening, January 21). Robert's favourite for scent is Hamamelis x intermedia 'Aurora," with copper-yellow flowers, and Hamamelis x intermedia 'Aphrodite," with slightly crimped, creamy orange-red flowers. Both grow into vase-shaped, medium to large shrubs over time and give good displays of autumn colour. Karan's favourite this year has been Hamamelis 'Dishi," which also has spectacular autumn colour. As well as choosing the right variety, she says, the secret to the good use of hamamelis is the position. You need to get the low winter sun shining through the spidery flowers. In 'Dishi" these are distinctly two-toned: orange-red in the middle, shading to gold at the tips. With the light at the right angle, they really glow, and the scent is glorious. Two final favourites that you rarely see: Robert's suggestion is Prunus mume 'Beni-chidori," the Japanese flowering apricot. This blooms from late February and gives a magnificent puff of scented bright pink flowers, best placed in a sheltered spot where its perfume will collect and not be whisked away. As he says: "At other times of year I would probably find the flower colour a little garish, but after a long, dark winter it's so cheerful and the scent is magical. It is a large shrub but will eventually form a small tree after many years. Nick's is an obscure and little-grown South American shrub called Maytenus magellanica. This is another slow-grower, but will eventually form a handsome, fully hardy small tree. The wine-coloured flowers have a strange scent which The Hillier Manual of Trees and Shrubs describes as the fragrance of orange peel. Nick says that is not quite it, but it has a hint of peel, with a citrus freshness to it which is intense and unmissable. The precious thing about the presence of any of these plants in your garden is the catching of an unexpected whiff as one passes by and the regular sprigs you can cut to bring inside. This time of year is the perfect planting moment, so add at least one to your garden in the next few weeks. Buy a Sarcococca hookeriana var. humilis for £8.95 or buy four for £17.90 - half price. Buy a Chimonanthus praecox for £9.95 or two for £19.90, get one free. To Telegraph Garden, Dept TL218, 14 Hadfield St, Old Trafford, Manchester, M16 9FG. Cheques to Telegraph Garden Service. See gardenshop. telegraph. co.uk/offers. Delivery 28 days, UK only, plants in 9cm pots. panglobalplants.com bluebellnursery.com junker.co.uk