That looks like my Viburnum tinus mine has flowered all winter this year.

Mine is in flower now, and smelling gorgeous! Iridescent, electric blue berries to follow.

Yes definitely viburnum tinus

You lot are so clever. Will I be able to take a cutting or should I go to GC & buy one?

This is (I think) an evergreen one, so semi-ripe cuttings can be taken in early autumn, I believe. If you can't wait, there are loads of places to buy them.

Thanks Gattina. My mini orchard has arrived ! So excited. They are between 4 & 5 ft tall with a good few branches on all of them. They are having a drink at the mo. It does not really tell you what kind of soil to put in the tubs, any ideas? Also I have heard there are certain times of the month that it is best for planting, to do with the moon. I want to give them the best start.

Oh, how splendid! Moongrower will be able to advise you on the best time to plant with the moon: in the meantime you can heel them in to any spare bit of earth. I take it they are bare-rooted? I hope you have some nice big tubs for them. I'm not sure about suitable compost for tubs - all of ours were planted straight into the soil, with some well rotted compost and a handful of bonemeal to help the roots get established. Make sure whatever you put in there, the tubs aren't so light that they are likely to tip over easily. I have only ever grown Christmas trees in tubs, and we planted them with a few large, heavy rocks at the base of the tub to give them stability and to help with drainage. There will be formidably well-informed GoYs out there to tell you the technical details of suitable compost to use. These trees will be in these tubs for a long time, so you need to get it right!

Have a look round the plants. They frequently layer themselves and that is the easiest way to propagate them.

Evergreen it is - viburnum laurus tinus. Call this the 'moth eaten' plant, because it is so susceptible to beetle attack. A good spray inside and outside the plant keeps it under control. Trim it hard back after winter flowering for a further flowering in summer.

This is a a shrub I reckon should be in every garden. It will flower for six months non-stop in a mild winter

Thanks everyone for your help. off I went to the GC today & got one, very nice healthy looking plant it is too. I will post a pic soon, too cold to be out there today. x

Strangely enough, it was the only Viburnum which was killed by the cold of last winter. We have about 25 different ones at present and all the others survived.

Agree, owdboggy - the only ones untouched were protected by other plants or in protected spots in the garden. Those that died back got a hard prune of all the dead, and they sprouted back during the spring/summer. The 'bush' has returned, but the siberian weather now predicted by the met office (do we believe them?) may kill them off completely. Just like the cordylines!

If you have lots of this growing all around where you live, it must be especially happy with the growing conditions you have. Viburnum tinus is a very well used foliage plant, used by florists. It does grow quite large, so keep it in check in the early years and you will end up with a lovely bushy plant. If you are planting in a container, I would use JI no3 and multipurpose potting compost 50/50 mix. I would use that for all plants that are going to be in there for a long time - it has more ummmph than the lighter multi purpose compost a handful of bonemeal would be good too. (Dont use bonemeal if you have foxes though, they will dig about for it!!)

Hi PL I have it sitting in unheated greenhouse at the moment, dont want to loose it before ive even started.
I only have a tiny paved garden & last autumn I built raised beds around the edges so I will use your mix when I plant it up.

Willi - you must have a look at Youngdaisyd's recent blogs. She has posted loads of wacky ideas for gardens using old doors, pallets and lots of recycled stuff. Really imaginative.