Flowers in Winter

Plants that flower in winter and early spring are a delight to the senses and such a surprising sight.  The Hellebores are setting flower buds in the garden but the potted plants in the nursery are already in full bloom.  Here is a photo of my current favorite, a seed grown double flowering Helleborus x hybridus.  You can be sure we will be propagating this one for future sale!

And, yes, I’ve been playing around with Photoshop but I promise I will try to refrain from going crazy with it.  No dogs’ faces peering out of the center of flowers for me!  You might wonder about my selection of the green background color - it is the actual color that appears in the center of the flower.  Look closely and you will see what I mean.

Silver Leaf Cyclamen coum

I’ve been talking a lot about Cyclamen this year and the Silver Leaf Cyclamen Coum are so beautiful right now that I can’t help sharing it again.  Cyclamen are great for adding splashes of bright color to the understory of the winter woodland garden.

Pachysandra terminalis

Another woodland plant is the rarely offered Eastern native Pachysandra procumbens that has the unfortunate common name of Alleghany spurge.  It is a slow growing, clump forming groundcover quite unlike its aggressively spreading Asian cousin, Pachysandra terminalis.  It has attractive semi-evergreen foliage and produces unique clove scented flowers in late winter.  It is found in woodlands along the East Coast from Virginia to Florida and is hardy to -20 degrees F.

Winter flowers of Pachysandra terminalis

Edgeworthia 'Akebana'

Scented winter flowering shrubs include the ever popular winter Daphne, Daphne odora.  Sweet Boxwood, Sarcoccoca confusa, is another attractive evergreen that produces a profusion strongly scented white flowers in winter.  And last but certainly not least, the orange flowering Paperbush Edgeworthia ‘Akebana’ or 'Akabana' are just coming into flower.  It needs a warm protected spot in the garden in order to thrive.