January is the start of the New Year and it is always good to see some flowers making a start when the weather can be at its worst.
Here is my list of plants that you can choose from which will help to lighten your winter garden and remind you that spring is on the way.
Bergenia is an evergreen perennial that has delicate pink, red or white flowers and large dark green leaves and flowers from winter to mid spring.They look good on banks or under shrubs.
Winter aconites that have bright yellow cheerful flowers
Winter heathers
Winter flowering pansies
Snowdrops there are many varieties - choose ones that do well in your area,soil and situation.
Ranunculus calandrinioides – a perennial that has white flowers for many weeks in a not too cold winter
Hellebores –(pictured below) perennials that have beautiful white, cream, green or purple flowers throughout the winter.
Winter flowering Jasmine makes a lovely fragrant climber to have by your doorway
Shrubs
Mahonia japonica is an evergreen upright shrub with lovely sprays of lemon or golden fragrant flowers.
Daphne mezeron is an upright deciduous shrub that has marvellously fragrant blooms all winter. They are pink or purple and come out on the bare stems to brighten up your garden.
Sarcococca humilis is a low growing evergreen shrub that has small but very fragrant white flowers
Stachyurus praecox is a deciduous bush that has drooping spikes of pale green/yellow flowers that appear on the branches before the leaves.
Viburnham davidii a small evergreen shrub that has decorative pink buds in winter which open to white flowers in early spring
Don’t forget that evergreen box or hollies clipped into shapes can look lovely with a white frost on them.
Try a few small conifers or a little shrub such as Elaeagnus Limelight which has dark green leaves with yellow markings or a Euonymus with their variegated leaves of white or silver – these can all add the shape and beauty of your winter garden.
Enjoy your winter garden!
