Winter Flowering Shrubs
Posted on 7th November 2021 at 17:00
Winter flowering shrubs add an extra special dimension to the garden over the colder, wetter months. Although not the showy blooms of the warmer seasons many are scented and the unexpected beauty in winter is a delight.
Skimmia japonica 'Daddy's Dream' is an easy to grow shrub which bears small, green flower buds held in showy panicles throughout winter, these open into scented, creamy white flowers in spring. This shrub is best grown in part shade and grows to a height and spread of 90cm.
Viburnum tinus is a useful evergreen with glossy, dark green leaves. This large shrub bears clusters of pink buds which develop into white flowers between December and April. The flowers are followed by ovoid, blue fruits.
Jasminum nudiflorum bears clear yellow flowers on bare stems from November to late February. This lax shrub can be grown over banks or trained on a wall, any reasonable soil is suitable and it is ideal for a north facing wall. This easily grown shrub provides a real splash of sunshine in the gloomiest months.
Sarcococca is an evergreen shrub that could well be overlooked until winter when it bears small, creamy white flowers with an intense vanilla scent. It is an accommodating shrub that grows in any well drained soil in semi or full shade. The flowers are followed by shiny, black berries.
Mahonias are valuable evergreens in the winter garden. These architectural shrubs flower from autumn until spring casting a delicate scent over the garden. The flowers are followed by purple-blue fruits which decorate the shrub in summer. There are lots of different varieties available, most of which are suitable for growing in any reasonable garden soil in semi to full shade.
Strictly speaking Garrya elliptica doesn't have flowers but the tassels that drape the evergreen shrub in January and February make this a beauty of the winter garden. Best grown against a north facing wall this shrub is a real feature of the late winter garden.
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