Alan Titchmarsh's plant of the week: Christmas box
THIS is misleadingly named, since it normally flowers in February and March.
It's not showy but the fragrance alone makes it worth growing.
Sarcococca confusa makes a rounded, compact bush with tiny white flowers.
Sarcococca hookeriana "Digyna" has slender, upright-ish, lilac-tinged stems that are dotted evenly with long oval leaves and small white flowers with a hint of pink.
Both are reliable and easy to grow, great in pots by a doorway or on the patio, and brilliant in a winter conservatory where you can enjoy the scent.
But they will also do well in any reasonably well-drained spot in dappled shade in the garden, or somewhere sunnier that doesn't get the full force of direct midday sun in summer.