Brighten Up Your Garden with Amazing Winter Flowering Plants

After the summer flowering perennials have long since gone and are building up their energy reserves for the next season, some well-chosen winter-flowering plants will enliven a garden over the coldest and gloomiest of months.

Shrubs – The Ideal Winter Flowering plants

There is a wide variety to choose from. Some species of shrub come into their own during the winter months – many with interesting flowers. The larger shrubs include two varieties of Mahonia, Mahonia x media ‘Charity’ and Mahonia x media ‘Winter Sun’. They possess large, dark-green, holly-like leaves above which spikes of yellow flowers appear in November until March. Although shade-loving plants they will tolerate direct sun if the roots remain moist. ‘Charity’ has pale yellow flowers whereas ‘Winter Sun’s’ are bright yellow, almost seeming luminous in the low winter light.

Of stunning architectural interest is the Garrya Elliptica ‘James Roof’ (silk tassel bush). The silvery catkins up to 20cm long shine out against the dark green foliage of this bush – and it looks particularly dramatic covered in frost. These larger shrubs are excellent specimen plants but their attractive green foliage, which they keep all year round, provide a lovely foil or backdrop to summer flowering perennials too.

Of the smaller flowering shrubs Sarcococca Hookeriana var.Digyna (sweet box) is perhaps the most fragrant of the Sarcococca variety. Its heady fragrance, reminiscent of lilies, is best appreciated near entrances or doorways. This is complemented by mid to dark evergreen leaves and small tassel-like creamy flowers which flower from December to March. Daphne odora ‘Aureomarginata’ (daphne) is another strongly-scented shrub which also flowers from December to March. Its dark evergreen lance-shaped leaves are the perfect background for the purple buds that open to small, sweet-smelling pink flowers.

Hellebores – Unusual And Pretty Winter Flowering Plants

Perhaps some of the prettiest and most unusual winter flowering plants belong to the Helleborus species. There are so many hybrids of these now that they are available in virtually every hue, from white, pink, red, chocolate, yellow and green. There are even bi-coloured and speckled varieties – all a welcome sight in any late winter garden. The flowers, although they fade, can last for over six months. And once the flowers have been cut back they are still in possession of their large green leaves, thus leaving no gaps in the border. The earliest Helleborus to flower is Helleborus Niger (Christmas rose) which flowers in December. The upturned pretty white saucer-shaped flowers are sometimes flushed with pink and have golden centres. Of the hybrids, the Helleborus x hybridus ‘Harvington pink speckled’ or ‘Harvington yellow speckled’ are particularly unusual and attractive plants with outward-facing, saucer-shaped speckled flowers.

For groundcover the excellent Pulmonaria Saccharata ‘Mrs Moon’ (lungwort; Jerusalem sage) performs well. It has handsome mid-green, hairy foliage and is covered in small lilac-blue flowers from February to May.

Alternatively, a dull corner, border or container can always be spruced up with an array of short-lived bedding plants which come in a huge array of colours to suit any aspect. Cyclamen flowers from September to December; Dianthus from autumn to spring and Viola from late winter to spring.

It’s a given that summer gardens are considered to be at their most stunning, but with careful planning beautiful winter flowering plants will ensure that your garden continues to look interesting and vivid throughout the year.