The winter honeysuckle is a shrubby plant as opposed to the well known climbing honeysuckles. Both of this plants parents L.fragrantissima and L.standishii were introduced by Robert Fortune in 1845 but Lonicera x purpusii appeared as a chance seedling in the Darmstadt Botanic Gardens in the 1920’s and has acquired its parents best assets being both free-flowering and vigorous. Flowering during the winter time it has a perfume that wafts on the breeze that brightens even the dullest of days.  According to folk lore a posy of honeysuckle will  make a young girl dream of love and passion.