Winter flowering plants can give you and your garden the lift that is needed in the coldest, darkest months of the year.
When most plants are dormant, winter-flowering plants can make a dramatic difference in your garden. These plants are hardy enough to survive in low temperatures. They will also also thrive in the short cold days, bringing vibrant colour and interest when most of the garden is bare.
Here are 10 winter-flowering plants you can grow to bring life and beauty to your outdoor space during the colder months.
1. Winter Jasmine (Jasminum nudiflorum)
Winter Jasmine is a cheerful plant that brightens up the garden with its star-shaped yellow flowers. Blooming on leafless, arching stems, it offers a burst of sunshine in the coldest months of the year.
Winter Jasmine is a vigorous, low-maintenance climber, perfect for growing against walls or cascading down slopes. It doesn’t twine, so you will need to tie it in if you are growing the plant as a climber. The bare stems are green, so they give the impression of an evergreen plant even when there are no flowers or leaves present.
- Botanical name: Jasminum nudiflorum
- Plant type: Deciduous shrub or climber
- Hardiness zone: 6-9
- Flower colour: Bright yellow
- Flower description: Small, star-shaped, unscented flowers along bare stems
- Flowering time: December to March
- Foliage colour: Dark green
- Foliage description: Pinnate leaves with small leaflets
- Height and width: 1.5–3m tall, 1–2m spread
- Position: Full sun to partial shade
- Soil type: Well-drained, moderately fertile soil
- Water needs: Low to moderate
2. Hellebore (Helleborus niger)
Often called the Christmas Rose, Hellebore produces elegant white or pink-tinged flowers that bloom from late winter into early spring. Often the flowers face downwards, but they tend to have interesting internal markings, so they invite us to reach down and lift the flowers up for a better look.
Hellebore also has leathery, deep green leaves which make it a year-round favourite. They thrive in partially shaded spots, particularly under trees.
- Botanical name: Helleborus niger
- Plant type: Evergreen perennial
- Hardiness zone: 3-8
- Flower colour: White, sometimes pink-tinged
- Flower description: Cup-shaped flowers with a central boss of yellow stamens
- Flowering time: December to March
- Foliage colour: Dark green
- Foliage description: Leathery, deeply divided leaves
- Height and width: 30–45cm tall, 30–45cm spread
- Position: Partial to full shade
- Soil type: Moist, well-drained, humus-rich soil
- Water needs: Moderate
3. Camellia (Camellia japonica)
Camellias are renowned for their glossy evergreen leaves and stunning, rose-like flowers that bloom through the winter. Their are thousands of cultivars available and, interestingly, despite the name, they originate from China to Japan.
These Camellias are available in a range of colours from pink to red and white. They are perfect for adding great colour to shaded areas. Their beautiful leaves mean that they ‘earn their keep’ in the garden, even outside the flowering period.
- Botanical name: Camellia japonica
- Plant type: Evergreen shrub
- Hardiness zone: 7-9
- Flower colour: Pink, red, white
- Flower description: Large, double or semi-double, rose-like flowers
- Flowering time: Late winter to early spring
- Foliage colour: Dark green
- Foliage description: Glossy, leathery leaves
- Height and width: 1.5–6m tall, 1.5–4m spread
- Position: Partial shade
- Soil type: Acidic, well-drained soil
- Water needs: Moderate
4. Winter Heather (Erica carnea)
Winter Heather is a low-growing, evergreen shrub that forms a dense mat of foliage, with pink or white bell-shaped flowers.
It thrives in cold climates (like mine), offering vibrant colour to rock gardens, borders, and containers and looking highly effective against a dusting of snow or ice.
- Botanical name: Erica carnea
- Plant type: Evergreen shrub
- Hardiness zone: 5-7
- Flower colour: Pink, white, purple
- Flower description: Small, bell-shaped flowers in dense clusters
- Flowering time: December to April
- Foliage colour: Green, sometimes bronze-tinted
- Foliage description: Needle-like leaves forming dense mats
- Height and width: 15–25cm tall, 30–60cm spread
- Position: Full sun to partial shade
- Soil type: Well-drained, slightly acidic soil
- Water needs: Low to moderate
5. Snowdrop (Galanthus nivalis)
Snowdrops are familiar to most of us and are among the earliest bulbs to flower, often pushing up through the snow to display delicate white, nodding blooms.
Their pure white bell shaped flowers are an iconic symbol of the end of winter and the first hints of spring to come. Plant the bulbs in clusters and they will gradually spread and naturalise in borders or lawns.
- Botanical name: Galanthus nivalis
- Plant type: Bulbous perennial
- Hardiness zone: 3-8
- Flower colour: White
- Flower description: Small, drooping, bell-shaped flowers
- Flowering time: January to March
- Foliage colour: Green
- Foliage description: Strap-like leaves
- Height and width: 10–15cm tall, 10cm spread
- Position: Full sun to partial shade
- Soil type: Moist, well-drained soil
- Water needs: Moderate
6. Witch Hazel (Hamamelis mollis)
Witch Hazel is a deciduous shrub that produces spidery, fragrant flowers in shades of yellow, red, or orange on bare branches deep in the winter.
The unusual blooms look a bit other-worldly against the wooden stems adding a zing of colour, but also a beguiling scent to the winter landscape.
- Botanical name: Hamamelis mollis
- Plant type: Deciduous shrub
- Hardiness zone: 5-8
- Flower colour: Yellow, red, orange
- Flower description: Spidery, fragrant flowers on bare branches
- Flowering time: December to February
- Foliage colour: Green, turning yellow in autumn
- Foliage description: Broad, oval leaves
- Height and width: 3-5m tall, 3-5m spread
- Position: Full sun to partial shade
- Soil type: Moist, well-drained soil
- Water needs: Moderate
7. Winter Aconite (Eranthis hyemalis)
Winter Aconite is a low-growing plant that produces bright yellow, buttercup-like flowers. These cheerful blooms carpet the ground beneath trees and shrubs.
Like the snowdrops, the Winter Aconites are often thought of as one the first signs of spring.
- Botanical name: Eranthis hyemalis
- Plant type: Perennial bulb
- Hardiness zone: 4-7
- Flower colour: Yellow
- Flower description: Small, cup-shaped, buttercup-like flowers
- Flowering time: January to March
- Foliage colour: Green
- Foliage description: Divided, lobed leaves
- Height and width: 8-15cm tall, 8-10cm spread
- Position: Full sun to partial shade
- Soil type: Moist, well-drained soil
- Water needs: Moderate
8. Cyclamen (Cyclamen coum)
Cyclamen are small but hardy winter-flowering plants with delicate, upswept petals in shades of pink, purple, or white. They add charm to woodland areas or shady garden spots and flower for long periods when we need them most.
Cyclamen also do well in pots.
- Botanical name: Cyclamen coum
- Plant type: Tuberous perennial
- Hardiness zone: 5-9
- Flower colour: Pink, purple, white
- Flower description: Delicate, nodding flowers with upswept petals
- Flowering time: January to March
- Foliage colour: Green, sometimes silver-mottled
- Foliage description: Heart-shaped leaves
- Height and width: 5–15cm tall, 15–20cm spread
- Position: Partial shade
- Soil type: Well-drained, humus-rich soil
- Water needs: Low to moderate
9. Mahonia (Mahonia x media)
Mahonia is an evergreen, exotic looking shrub that produces spiky, holly-like foliage and clusters of fragrant bright yellow flowers.
Blooming in midwinter, Mahonia are tough plants. They adds structure, form and brightness to the winter garden.
- Botanical name: Mahonia x media
- Plant type: Evergreen shrub
- Hardiness zone: 6-9
- Flower colour: Yellow
- Flower description: Clusters of fragrant, small, yellow flowers
- Flowering time: December to February
- Foliage colour: Dark green
- Foliage description: Spiky, holly-like leaves
- Height and width: 1.5-3m tall, 1-2m spread
- Position: Partial shade
- Soil type: Moist, well-drained soil
- Water needs: Moderate
10. Sarcococca (Sarcococca confusa)
Also known as Sweet Box, Sarcococca is a slow-growing evergreen shrub that produces tiny, beautifully fragrant white flowers in the depths of winter. Its scent is powerful, and it thrives in shady spots, making it ideal for underplanting in woodland gardens.
- Botanical name: Sarcococca confusa
- Plant type: Evergreen shrub
- Hardiness zone: 6-8
- Flower colour: White
- Flower description: Tiny, fragrant flowers
- Flowering time: December to February
- Foliage colour: Dark green
- Foliage description: Glossy, lance-shaped leaves
- Height and width: 1-1.5m tall, 1-1.5m spread
- Position: Partial to full shade
- Soil type: Moist, well-drained soil
- Water needs: Low to moderate
Summing up
I often suffer a bit in winter from seasonal affective disorder, so I find it hard to get myself into the garden with the same enthusiasm I have in spring and summer.
However, my winter flowering plants do give me a real lift. It is a joy to look forward to their flowering time and then a pleasure when they do flower.
I think it is definitely worth the effort to plant some of these beauties, as the can lift your spirits when they need lifting most.
Martin Cole has been an avid plant lover and gardener for more than 20 years and loves to talk and write about gardening. In 2006 he was a finalist in the BBC Gardener of the Year competition. He is a member of the National dahlia Society.
He previously lived in London and Sydney, Australia, where he took a diploma course in Horticultural studies and is now based in North Berwick in Scotland. He founded GardeningStepbyStep.com in 2012. The website is aimed at everybody who loves plants or has been bitten by the gardening bug and wants to know more.
Gardening Step by Step has been cited by Thompson and Morgan, the UK’s largest mail order plant retailer, as a website that publishes expert gardening content.