My large Viburnum farerri (or V. fragrans) has been looking good for some time.

At the very hint of autumn, a few tentative blossoms emerge when the foliage is still quite green. Gradually the leaves take on copper tones and will drop after a hard frost. The white flowers will bloom on bare branches during mild spells throughout winter. This shrub hasn’t got showy blooms, like a camellia for example, but it’s dainty flowers are a welcome sight in winter and its perfume is lovely. A twig or two will scent a room.

Come spring, it will have another wild flush of flowers before the blossom gives way to attractive young foliage. I have a clematis growing up through mine to give interest in mid summer. This is a wide growing shrub that can take a small climber growing through it. Although large, it is a shrub I would always find space for. I take out a few older branches every couple of years by cutting right down to the base. There are always new shoots trying to push on up through the mature stems. It’s certainly a shrub that gives a lot.