There are very few plants that can compete in the scent-stakes with Daphnes. On a warm early spring day, their delicious fragrance fills the air and stops one in one’s tracks, nose a-sniffing.

But what a complete pain they are to grow. Expect to pay top dollar for them because they are very fussy.

You can be patting yourself on the back for keeping the thing alive for four years and then – whoosh, gone, dead. Did you do anything different? Of course not – it’s a Daphne, stupid!

At Woodborough we have stopped stocking Daphnes as a rule – who would pay more than £20 for what looked like a stick? But this year, we got in a few larger specimens of Daphne Mezereum. They were big chunky plants, covered in trumpet-shaped pinky/lilac flowers exuding a scent that brought people up short.

On the whole, Daphnes have a few problems. Firstly, they are difficult to propagate. You can try cuttings in various forms but the success rate is low. To make matters worse, I have heard the chap who was the most successful Daphne propagator in the UK has retired!

Secondly, they are slow to grow so when you buy them they look like a stick in a tiny pot.

Thirdly, if you prune them – well, stupid you!

Fourthly, they all tend to resent chalk (apart from Daphne .odora which can cope if it’s not too dry).

On to more reliable stuff – hardy fuchsias can all be cut back hard now, as can late-flowering Ceratostigma and Perovskia. If you are a Lavender grower, you should be looking to see when new growth starts as that is the sign for you to get out there and trim back – by a half if needs be – but only on young plants.

Don’t forget to prune shrubs that flower on new growth such as Buddleia davidii and Lavatera olbia, and those that need to pruned back after they have flowered so they can make enough growth to do it all again next year. These are really early flowerers such as Jasminum nudiflorum, Forsythias, Ribes sanguineum and Viburnum x bodnantense cultivars. Remember the general rule with regard to pruning: if it flowers before June, prune immediately after it has finished flowering. Waiting until spring leads to the removal of potential flower buds.

Any spring-flowering bulbs such as crocus, narcissus, puschkinia, tulip etc will benefit from a handful of general-purpose fertiliser such as Growmore or Fish, Blood and Bone after they have finished flowering. Do not cut the leaves off, they need to be left alone for about six weeks so the bulb can replenish its resources ready for next year.

As oriental hellebores go over, if you do not want a myriad of seedlings popping up then snap off the seed capsules before they ripen and become a bit of a nuisance – you can always keep a few.