The highlight of my first visit of the year to Lavernock Nature Reserve was seeing, and smelling, the Spurge-laurel (Daphne laureola) in bloom.

This beautiful plant is one of only two Daphnes that are native to Britain; the other is Mezereon (Daphne mezereum), a plant I’ve never seen and which has only been recorded once in the wider Cardiff area, and that was 25 years ago.

Though its flowers are lovely and emit a scent like honey, they are quite understated, and it is the glossy evergreen of this shrub’s fleshy leaves that make Spurge-laurel stand out.