The planting of sweetbox (Sarcococca hookeriana var. humilis) between a stone path and stream was a disappointment at the start. Small plants grow slowly, but today, the creeping stems have filled the area, long ago crowding out a daphne and a large portion of what was once a vigorous clump of Japanese Forest grass (Hakonechloa macra ‘Aureola’, which was partially salvaged to move elsewhere). Annual maintenance must curb growth that seeks terrain beyond the path.

The glossy, evergreen foliage of sweetbox is pleasant enough, and while the tiny flowers are splendid when viewed close-up (above), they are hardly seen from a few paces away. The scent is the main attraction, at least that’s what I hear, though I can rarely smell a thing.

On a rare occasion, I enjoy a sweet scent wafting on a warm, early spring evening. Sweetbox, witch hazels, and paperbushes were planted for winter flowers, and all are fragrant. My wife enjoys cut stems of sweetbox brought into the kitchen, and possibly I can smell a faint scent in this enclosed space.

In late winter, I often hear praise for the scent of paperbush ((Edgeworthia chrysantha), a favorite of mine, but again with no scent that I can discern. Contrasting with the tiny blooms of sweetbox, flowers of paperbushes are large and brightly colored.

While paperbushes typically begin flowering by mid-February and rarely in late January in this northwest Virginia garden, all are tardy after this chilly winter. I anticipate peak bloom the third week of March.