A warm, mild day at last, and Lonicera fragrant-issima fills the air with a sweet honeysuckle fragrance, drawing in queen bumblebees to sup from nectaries in the base of the tubular flowers. I have exploited the five foot, arching shrub’s tough nature by planting it against a north-facing wall, in a raised bed above the porch. It flowers reliably through December and January, a wonderful source of energy for insects when indigenous plants are at their least generous.
I put mine in eight or so years ago, and with a simple hard prune after flowering and occasional compost mulch, it has thrived and required little maintenance. Since planting it, however, I’ve discovered the shrub in other gardens, growing in full sun, and, to my disgust, with twice the number of blooms. Therefore, for whatever position, so long as your soil is rich and well-drained, winter honeysuckle is a treasure I'd recommend to all.
If temperatures rise high enough in the middle of the day, honeybees are also tempted out of their hive. Not a true hibernation, they spend the winter in a tight cluster, clinging onto wax frames around the queen. They shiver their wings to generate heat, and by taking turns at the chilly exterior of the ball, a colony endures the colder months. But when sunshine hits the hive entrance, they seize the opportunity, emerging for short flights, to empty their bowels. And if they find the air sufficiently balmy, they will even consider a forage, bringing them over the lane to the honeysuckle in the garden (see image above).
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