There are some interesting scents around in the garden this morning; the heady perfume of lilac, the fresh scent of apple blossom, and the warm aroma of broad bean flowers in the vegetable plot, all vying to attract the few flying insects that are around at this time of year.

I spotted hover flies and a variety of small bee in the lilac, with honey bees in the apple tree but, rather worryingly, no insects at all on the beans. I hope my crop will not be affected.

There's one plant in particular that I keep stopping to sniff on my way up and down the garden - it's Euphorbia mellifera, which smells of Sugar Puffs.

The common name for this plant is honey spurge; it comes from Madeira in the Canary Islands. Technically a shrub, though it looks like a stout, herbaceous perennial, it can reach more than six feet in height and eight feet across. Euphorbia mellifera is highly valued among gardeners for its architectural foliage - the leaves are bright, emerald green, up to eight inches long, and held in architectural whorls that look great in a mixed border. The flowers, produced from mid- to late-spring, are orangey-brown in colour, glistening with the honey-scented exudate that gives the plant its delicious perfume.

I bought our honey spurge from a garden centre in the South West, while visiting relatives last summer. Being unable to decide where to plant such a potentially large shrub, we put it in an ornamental pot, where it remains to this day.

A quick check on the conditions that it likes (full sun, well drained soil) revealed that it isn't reliably hardy in this country, so we took some cuttings which were over-wintered in the cold frame. Both the original plant, left outside in its pot, and the cuttings have survived the winter, so I'm going to keep the main plant where it is and plant a cutting in one of the borders.

If the planted-out specimen grows too big (or if next winter's frosts kill it off), I can always replace it with one of this summer's cuttings. And if it doesn't need replacing, then my friends and relatives can look forward to receiving honey spurges for their gardens.

Like all euphorbias, this plant contains a milky-white sap, which oozes out of the stems and leaves when cut or bruised. This can be a skin irritant and is very harmful to the eyes. Gloves should be worn when pruning and care taken when working near any species or variety of euphorbia.

Jobs for the gardener this week...

Lower the height of cut on the lawn mower after the third or fourth cut.

If you have a greenhouse or conservatory, plant up hanging baskets now to get a head start. Keep them indoors at night until the end of the month.

Do not be tempted to plant out summer bedding until all chances of late frost have passed.