The tiny white flowers of the mid-winter-blooming Sarcococca ruscifolia are nearly hidden by the leaves, but their sweet vanilla scent is strong enough to waft widely about the garden, especially on a sunny day.

I always think of winter as being pleasantly bracketed by the aromatic bloom of Viburnum x bodnantense, which comes into full bloom on bare branches by Christmas, and the Korean spice viburnum (V. carlesii), whose pale pink clusters of spicy-sweet-smelling flowers open in late March. Both are sturdy, hardy shrubs, ideal as part of a border, backdrop for perennials or scaffold for summer-blooming vines.

Greens Galore A Holiday Greenery and Gifts sale will benefit the Washington Park Arboretum, Seattle's 230-acre living plant museum. Check out wreaths and other handmade decorations created from local greens, dried flowers, pods and cones. A wide assortment of fresh greenery will be available, donated from Arboretum members' gardens. Saturday, Dec. 1, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Graham Visitors Center, 2300 Arboretum Drive E. Admission and parking are free. For information call 206-726-1954.

Perhaps the most heady and exotic of all winter perfumes comes from the daphnes, whose fragrance is as potent as a hit of tropical gardenia. A single branch of Daphne odora, with its tubular purplish-pink and white flowers, scents an entire room inside or out. D. odora 'Aureomarginata' is especially handsome, with glossy evergreen leaves trimmed in cream. The February daphne, or D. mezereum, is leafless when it bursts into bloom with mauve or white flowers full of the sweetest scent. And I hear that Daphne blagayana, a white-flowered prostrate shrub, is powerfully fragrant, but since I've killed it off twice before it had a chance to bloom, I don't know this firsthand.

My favorite winter scent must surely be the compellingly astringent odor that pours forth from the spidery little yellow, orange or bronze flowers of witch hazel. The Chinese witch hazel (Hamamelis mollis) and its hybrids are thought to be the most fragrant, but I've heard many arguments over this point, which is a good reason to buy witch hazel in bloom to make sure the one you pick is fragrant. I watched visitors to last February's Northwest Flower and Garden Show being led about by the nose, searching for the source of that luscious smell, only to be surprised that it came from little yellow flowers dotting this unassuming shrub.

A close second in the pleasing-scent category is sweet box, whose inconspicuous white flowers seem particularly adept at spreading their strong and sweet vanilla aroma widely about the garden. This is a tidy, shade-loving shrub with polished evergreen leaves and shiny red or black berries. Sarcococca humilis is the lowest-growing (to 18 inches) and has narrow leaves, while S. ruscifolia and S. confusa are nearly indistinguishable and grow into small shrubs.

The search for off-season scents is a good excuse to prowl nurseries this time of year. Other fragrant plants to keep an eye out for include Prunus mume, Skimmia japonica (rumor has it the male plant is more highly scented than the female), Lonicera fragrantissima, Mahonia x 'Arthur Menzies' or Mahonia x media 'Charity.'

No matter how aromatic the plant, it won't do you a bit of good if it is stuck in a back corner of the garden where you never venture between October and April. Ideally, winter plants should be grouped for impact (few are flashy stand-alones) close to the front door, or alongside a pathway you and your guests traverse regularly. Winter-blooming treasures are best admired close up, cut and brought indoors or passed by daily for a pick-me-up more potent than a double cap. Just when we most need reassurance that the world continues to spin toward springtime, winter plants open their fragrant flowers full of the promise of next year's garden.

Valerie Easton is a horticultural librarian who writes about plants and gardens for Pacific Northwest magazine. She is the co-author of "Artists in Their Gardens" (Sasquatch Books). Her e-mail address is vjeaston@aol.com.