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36

LIFE

Dec 2010/Jan 2011 www.esb.ie/em

CREATE YOUR OWN WINTER WONDERLAND with flowering, sweet smelling plants...

On the scent of Winter!

GERRY DALY

GARDENING

One of the most charming, and unsung, aspects of the garden in winter are its scented plants

WINTER FLOWERING plants are not very numerous but many have sweet scent as a mechanism for attracting pollinating insects during a time when insects are scarce. Some of these plants have inconspicuous flowers, so the effect of their scent is important.

One of the least well-known winter-scented plants is the sweet box or Christmas box, a waist-high evergreen shrub. It has glossy green, pointed leaves, and its flowers have no petals, just cream-coloured pollen-carrying stamens. It flowers before Christmas in most years, or shortly afterwards, and the stems can be brought indoors where they will last for a few days in water.

The fragrant viburnum carries tufts of pink-white small tubular flowers at the ends of small twigs from November through to March, flowering more in mild spells. The pink flower clusters can be seen from a good distance. The scent is sweet with a warm touch of cloves.

Witch hazel is renowned for its sweet, light perfume. The plant forms a large bush or small tree and its spidery flowers are carried along bare branches. Plant it in a position of prominence, ideally with a dark backdrop where sunlight can shine through to highlight the flowers and it should be near a path where its scent can be appreciated. The flowers, though apparently flimsy, are amazingly resistant to cold.

In recent years, the stunning Daphne bholua has become more widely available and is worth seeking. On a bush reaching two metres in a narrow shape, the flowers are tufted at the tips and along the branches, small tubular florets packed together. The colour is a lovely wine-pink shading out to white. The scent is powerful but delicate and sweet.

Mahonia has been in flower since October but continues through to spring. The bush carries large, spiky evergreen leaves on a large broad bush with upright tufted stems and the flowers in a crown right on top. The long, narrow racemes of flowers carry small individual yellow flowers and the plant is striking in appearance through the late autumn and winter. The fragrance is very light and delicate, reminiscent of daffodils.

The shrubby honeysuckle, Lonicera purpusii, is a shrub of medium size and produces small cream-coloured flowers from mid-winter to spring. The flowers are sweetly scented. Place it towards the back of a mixed border where it could blend into the background in summer but be noticeable in winter. Even one or two of these plants can make a delightful addition to the garden at this time of year.

Ask Gerry

I have a nice bank in front of my house but it is mainly of large summer flowering shrubs. Can you advise me on similar shrubs that would give winter colour?

There are very few shrubs that give much flower colour in winter. The scented plants mentioned in the column can be useful, especially viburnum, mahonia, daphne and witch hazel. Laurustinus has clusters of white flowers.

Apart from the flowering shrubs, some others have good foliage and bark effects. For foliage, aucuba, skimmia and euonymus are good and for bark, dogwood, willow and white-stemmed rubus can make a good show.

Mowing grass in winter

WHILE many people put away their lawn mower in late autumn, the lawn can be mown in winter and looks much better as a result. Grass grows during mild spells in winter, a few days or a week at a time. Each time grass grows, it gets taller and if the lawn is not mown between November and March, quite a layer of grass builds up. This makes the first cut a real task and often the lawn looks yellow in patches. Instead, take advantage of any dry spell of weather that lasts a few days and mow the grass once or twice during winter, or even once a month if possible. The lawn will look remarkably better and will need less effort in spring.

Weekend breaks: cities for a flying visit

TONY CLAYTON-LEA

TRAVEL

WITH A NEW YEAR comes fresh thoughts. With most of us having tighter budgets, quick weekend breaks are a much more viable option than two or three weeks away. We’re also aware that some of you might be tired of heading off to the same cities, so instead of the usual tried, tested and trusted destinations like Brussels, Madrid and Warsaw, why not try instead Antwerp, Malaga and Vilnius?

ANTWERP

Less than one hour from Brussels, Antwerp is the perfect spot for a weekend break – it’s small, cosy, energetic and very much one of the most trendsetting, compact cities in Europe. Because of its innate fashionable status, Antwerp is something of a magnet for indigenous designers, quite a number of whom have boutique stores in and around Nationalestratt – check out the design stores Het Modepaleis, Veronique Branquinho and Yohji Yamamoto. If you’re snacking between shops (and why ever not?), then try the cake and coffee at the intriguingly named Biologisch- Dynamische Bakkerij (17 Volkstraat). Dinner? Try De Kleine Zavel (Stoofstraat 2), a casual and wholly innovative restaurant. Best place to rest your head? Apartment living is all the economically-friendly rage these days, so check out the Sleep In The City website (www.sleepinthecity.be) for city centre accommodation.

MALAGA

Once viewed as a simplistic, working-class fishing port, Malaga has developed over the past ten years or so into a world-class spot that blends beautiful Old Town atmosphere (courtesy of its Moorish heritage and history) with contemporary restaurants, art galler ies and shops. Start the day off with a great breakfast at Le Teteria, which is situated on C/San Agustin 9, a pretty, fragrant street. Follow breakfast with a visit to the excellent Museo Picasso (San Agustin 8), which is housed in a wonderful 17thcentury Renaissance building. The museum contains a wide range of the artist’s works, including pieces donated by family members. If you’re all walked out by evening time, try dinner at Café de Paris (C/Velez Malaga 8), a Michelin-starred, family operated restaurant. Best hotel bet? Check into Malaga’s most chic hotel, Room Mate Lola (www.room-matehotels.com), which is situated in the Old Town.

VILNIUS

Is there a European city as undiscovered as Vilnius? To my mind, there isn’t, so recommending such a beautiful place is a double-edged thing – do I want to keep it a secret or do I want to open it up for more people to discover? Of course, you should visit here: its Old Town is small but incredibly picture-postcard pretty. It has treasures that are difficult to beat, from hidden courtyards and cobbled alleys to olive/yellow buildings and glittering church domes. After stepping from one quirky shop to another in the Old Town, try lunch in Zoe’s Bar & Grill (Odminiu), a contemporary casual din- ing place that delivers great sandwiches and salads. For a spot of culture, make sure to take in the 16th-century Gates of Dawn, quite probably the city’s most iconic symbol. The most inspiring district to check out is Uzupis, a uniquely characterful and creative hub that is full of artists, artisans, cafés and galleries. Sleep off all the day’s culture at the Narutis Hotel (Pilles Street; www. narutis.com), which has an elegance all of its own.