Winter gardens are not necessarily synonymous with dry clumps, bare soil, and sad branches!

Flowering is certainly much rarer than in summer, but if you create a few scenes specifically for winter, combining interesting and colourful flowers and foliage, you will appreciate them even more. Discover the scents of winter as well...

Indispensable, the early small bulbs

They bloom almost at ground level, but what a delight! Plant them in fairly large groups, at least ten, to create colourful patches visible from afar, and place them in strategic locations, near the terrace, the front door, along the path between the garage and the house, within view of windows and French doors.

• The Cyclamen of Cos, Cyclamen coum, unfolds its round leaves, marbled with silver or solid dark green, and its small light pink to deep purplish-pink flowers almost simultaneously, at the end of winter or sometimes as early as Christmas.
• The Ipheion, Ipheion uniflorum ‘Wisley Blue’, enchants at the end of winter, from November to December when the winter is mild, with its star-shaped lilac-blue flowers.
• Among the irises, look for the small Iris reticulata, 10-15 cm tall, which bloom in February-March in light blue to dark violet or purple, and the Iris unguicularis which can flower as early as November-December, in lavender blue to dark violet.
• The Winter Aconite, Eranthis hyemalis, unfolds just above the ground, as soon as the weather becomes milder in February, with its bright yellow cup-shaped flowers set on a dark green collar.
• The Snowdrops are, of course, among the first to appear in the garden, bright and delicate at the end of winter. Plant them in groups and let them naturalise over the years. For something out of the ordinary, look for the double-flowered form, Galanthus ‘Flore Pleno’ or Galanthus elwesii, which is larger.

If you plant them in full sun, in a well-sheltered spot, the first botanical crocuses will also bloom as early as February, sometimes late January. Choose from varieties of Crocus chrysanthus, with yellow or white flowers, and C. tommasinianus, with pale blue to violet-blue flowers.

While daffodils rarely bloom before March, ‘February Gold’ deserves a mention for its bright yellow flowers on 20-25 cm stems, blooming in February as its name suggests!

Eranthis hyemalis, Ipheion, Cyclamen coum, Iris reticulata, and Snowdrops

The winter perennials

• Hellebores are often the first perennials that come to mind for winter... and rightly so! The queen is, of course, the Christmas Rose, Helleborus niger, with its large pure white flowers, even if it is not always present for the year-end festivities. The countless and stunning hybrid hellebores that offer extraordinary colours, from white to almost black purple through all shades of pink, bloom from January or February. Original and robust, discover the Corsican Hellebore, Helleborus argutifolius, with its clusters of pale green flowers.
• Bergenias are another reliable choice for the winter garden, with their evergreen foliage often tinged with bronze or purple in cold weather, and their tight clusters of white, pink, or purple flowers. For early blooms, look for Bergenia cordifolia, which flowers as early as February.
• A dwarf shrub often classified among perennials, the Winter Heather, Erica carnea, is another ally for gardeners to enliven winter. It comes in many varieties with fine green to golden or bronze foliage, flowering white, pink, or red from December to April. It tolerates calcareous soils.
• The Pulmonarias are other perennials for late winter and early spring, combining characteristic foliage more or less punctuated or marbled with silver, and bouquets of flowers ranging from blue to pink, sometimes red. Look for the earliest, such as Pulmonaria longifolia, P. rubra, P. saccharata and their varieties.
• Pansies make valuable colourful fillers, and the current selection is such that it is hard not to find something to suit your needs for a few pots or clumps along a path or against a wall of the house.

Helleborus niger, Bergenia, Erica carnea, Pansies, and Pulmonaria

Little-known shrubs, winter stars

Often, gardeners design shrub plantings for the beautiful season. It would be a shame to overlook those that bloom and bring colourful touches in the heart of winter!

• The laurel-tin, Viburnum tinus is a must-have, combining evergreen foliage and clusters of small pale pink flowers from autumn to spring.
• Another Viburnum, with deciduous foliage, Viburnum bodnantense, deserves to be planted for its clusters of small waxy pink flowers, fragrant, blooming at the slightest thaw between autumn and spring.
• The Witch Hazels are also among the winter stars, with their astonishing bright yellow to warm orange flowers on bare wood.
• Little known, the Chimonanthus (Chimonanthus praecox) also reveals itself in winter, with its cup-shaped sulphur-yellow flowers, fragrant, on bare branches.
• Very robust, with leathery and spiny foliage, the Mahonia Charity (Mahonia x media ‘Charity’) unfolds its compact clusters, bright yellow, between December and March.
• To discover, a bush honeysuckle, Lonicera fragrantissima, with clusters of very fragrant cream-white flowers throughout winter.
• With discreet white fragrant flowers, the Sarcococca also offers dark, glossy foliage.
• The Skimmias with beautiful glossy foliage are interesting in winter, either for their colourful berries on female plants, or for their dark red flower buds in winter for male forms like Skimmia japonica ‘Rubella’, blooming in spring with white flowers.
• Essential and so easy, the Winter Jasmine (Jasminum nudiflorum) is more of a climber, with light yellow flowers dotting the bare stems all winter and sometimes as early as November when the weather is mild.

Viburnum tinus, Viburnum bodnantense, Witch Hazel, Chimonanthus praecox, Mahonia, Lonicera fragrantissima, Sarcococca, Skimmia, and Jasminum nudiflorum

Foliage, bark, graphic silhouettes... think of these too to enliven the winter garden!

To animate and structure the garden in winter, be sure to introduce evergreen foliage (box, cotoneaster, yew...), original silhouettes once bare, like that of the contorted hazel, colourful or beautifully exfoliating barks like those of certain Prunus, maples, birches.

Do not rush at the end of autumn to cut back perennials. Some clumps or dried inflorescences retain their beauty until the heart of winter, especially when highlighted by frost. This is often the case with large grasses, large sedums, and certain asters with very small flowers... there will always be time to cut them back at the end of winter!