I'm related to the more common mahonia, which you may have seen planted alongside verges. Mahonia are evergreen shrubs with savagely spiky leaves and the most delightfully scented yellow flowers in late winter. I'm different to standard mahonia, more like a second-cousin-twice-removed, because if you put us next to each other you would never say we are related. My leaves are silky soft and not at all spiky. My flowers come during summer, and their scent is just as lovely as those of my prickly cousins.
Mahonia soft caress
I'm quite slow growing, and eventually will grow to just over a metre tall and across. I'm much tougher than I look, and I will keep growing whatever the weather. I might add just a few centimetres of height each year with the right care. So if you don't have much room for plants I'll be a perfect companion and won't outgrow your space.