Over the winter most plants tend to die back, and your garden can be left looking positively dull and drab. Top this off with the fact that most people tend to neglect their garden in the winter, allowing leaf litter to accumulate and the lawn to look untidy, and for half of the year it's like the outside space is completely wasted. While you're probably not going to want to sit outside in the winter with a drink in hand, you can still keep it looking nice for a stunning view from your window. Choose the right mixture of winter blooming plants and evergreens, and your garden can look lively all year round. Here are a few you could go for!
WINTER ACONITE
Winter aconite (eranthis hyemalis) displays pretty little yellow flowers from January to March. A time of year when most plants have completely died back, this makes a fabulous addition to the garden. They're only small, growing to around fifteen centimetres tall, but are generally pest free with no maintaining so there's no need to be stood outside in the freezing cold making the garden look tidy! They make the ideal bedding or pot plants, and give a vibrant pop of colour during the coldest months.
CHRISTMAS ROSE
Christmas rose (Helleborus niger) also known as 'bears foot) produces large, bowl shaped flowers in the late winter from December through to March. It's not actually a rose at all, and is instead a type part of the buttercup family. It is a poisonous plant and so isn't one to add in the garden if you have children or pets. But if not it makes a beautiful part of the garden, with it's evergreen leaves and blooms that are either snow white or occasionally pink. It can grow up to forty centimetres tall, and so is a nice one for filling a larger space in the garden.
ALGERIAN IRIS
Algerian iris (Iris unguicularis) is a stunning looking purple flowering plant which blooms between October and March. The larger flowers look really impressive and make for a spectacular splash of colour in any winter garden. Reaching around twenty centimetres in height, they're not the biggest plants, but a cluster of them in beds or pots would look really pretty dotted around the garden. You can cut them back after they've stopped flowering in the spring ready for your spring and summer plants to come into flower. The bulbs will store energy for next winter and provide you with a gorgeous burst of colour again and again.
Do you use any winter flowering plants in your garden?
