It’s December, a time of the year when many plants have finished flowering and deciduous shrubs and trees have dropped their leaves. This leaves dark brown silhouettes highlighted against the winter skies.
Fortunately, it’s also a time when many winter flowering shrubs start showing their pretty flowers from ground to eye level and above. This means that you can still have colour in the garden despite the time of year! The other good news is that many of these shrubs are easy to grow and undemanding in their care requirements. This makes them great choices and here are ten of the best.
Camellia sasanqua tends to flower late in the year and produces very pretty, single flowers. And Yuletide produces, as its name implies, delightful, crimson-red flowers from December 2024 until March. Keep well-watered especially during summer months. This is because it is the time flower buds form. Lack of water could cause them to fall before opening at this time of year.
- Flowers from December to March
- Fully hardy
- Grows to 300cm tall and 250cm wide
- Fertile, acidic moisture retentive soil
- Part shade
- Sheltered
2. Cyclamen coum (Winter-flowering cyclamen)
These pretty, little, flowering hardy perennial plants will not only flower yearly but also self-seed in the right conditions. Flower colours range from shades of pink to magenta with the occasional white flower. And many of the rounded-shaped leaves have beautiful markings in various shades of silver and grey-green. Don’t panic if the leaves disappear during the summer months. This is because the plant becomes dormant after flowering, and you should notice the leaves reappear from September onwards.
- Flowers from December to March
- Fully hardy
- Grows to 10cm tall and 6cm wide
- Well-drained, moisture-retentive soil
- Part shade
- Exposed
This easy-to-grow, shrubby climber produces delightfully cheerful, small to medium-sized, bright yellow flowers for weeks on end. Perfect at a time of the year like December 2024 when colour is scarce. It looks best trained on a trellis or left to scramble over low walls. Plus, it’s happy in either full sun or part shade.
- Flowers from December to March
- Fully hardy
- Grows to 250cm tall and 250cm wide
- Well-drained, moisture-retentive, moderately fertile soil
- Full sun or part shade
- Exposed
4. Skimmia japonica ‘Rubella’ (Japanese Skimmia)
Skimmia is another easy-to-grow plant. ‘Rubella’ is a compact, evergreen cultivar covered in dark red flower buds on long, dark stems from autumn until the flowers open in spring. It’s an ideal choice for planting in a container or the front of a shady border.
- Flowers from April to May
- Fully hardy
- Grows to 150cm tall and 150cm wide
- Well-drained, fertile, moisture-retentive soil
- Full or part shade
- Exposed
5. Galanthus nivalis ‘Christmas Wish’ (Snowdrop)
Snowdrops are extremely hardy bulbs that will push through frozen, snow laden soil, without any problems! ‘Christmas Wish’ is one of the earliest snowdrops to flower; often flowering at Christmas. Like many other cultivars, ‘Christmas Wish’ has pretty, nodding white flowers with green markings on the central part. Like cyclamen, the leaves die down in late spring and become dormant from then until early winter. This is when the leaves start to reappear. Perfect for December 2024 gardens.
- Flowers from December to February
- Fully hardy
- Grows to 15cm tall and 8cm wide
- Well-drained, moisture-retentive, humus-rich soil
- Part shade
- Exposed
6. Daphne odora (Daphne)
Daphne are renowned for their highly scented flowers and this species is no exception. Its clusters of pink tubular flowers are produced from now until March. Then followed by red berries beautifully highlighted by the plant’s variegated leaves. This is another plant best placed near a pathway or in a container close to the front door. There, its wonderful fragrance can be best appreciated in December 2024.
- Flowers from December to March
- Fully hardy
- Grows to 150cm tall and 100cm wide
- Well-drained but moisture-retentive, fertile soil
- Full sun or part shade
- Exposed
Hellebores are perfect evergreen plants for late winter and spring as once established, they flower prolifically for weeks on end. ‘Advent Star’ is one of the earliest flowering cultivars, producing bright white flowers with soft yellow centres until late winter. It prefers to grow in a partly shaded spot. This is ideal for showing off the plant’s glossy green leaves and pure white flowers.
- Flowers from December to March
- Fully hardy
- Grows to 40cm tall and 50cm wide
- Well-drained, moisture-retentive, fertile soil
- Prefers part shade but will grow in sun
- Exposed
8. Viola x wittrockiana ‘Cool Wave Fire’ (Winter-Flowering Pansy)
Pansies have long been the gardeners’ choice for winter flowering colour in front of borders, containers, and hanging baskets. ‘Cool Wave Fire’ is part of the Cool Wave Series, bred for repeat, reliable flowering on strong plants and has fantastic fiery colours. Deadhead spent flowers regularly to encourage repeat flowering. Classed as perennials, pansies are often treated as annuals. However, the colours on this cultivar are so wonderful that’s worth keeping the plants growing over summer and keeping them well-watered.
- Flowers from December to March
- Fully hardy
- Grows to 15cm tall and 30cm wide
- Well-drained, moisture retentive, fertile soil
- Full sun or light shade
- Exposed
9. Iris unguicularis ‘Mary Barnard’
This pretty iris will delight at this time of year by producing large violet flowers with yellow centres known as ‘signals.’ It will grow particularly well if planted against a sunny wall as long as it has free-draining soil. Probably best dug up six weeks after flowering, dried and saved to be replanted the following year. Because if left in the soil, they tend not to re-appear the following year.
- Flowers from December to January
- Fully hardy
- Grows to 50cm tall and 10cm wide
- Well-drained soil
- Full sun
- Sheltered
10. Hamamelis x intermedia ‘Robert’ (Witch Hazel)
Witch hazels produce scented flowers in the winter months, the ideal planting position being beside a path. ‘Robert’ will often flower as early as December, with delightful apricot-coloured petals.
- Flowers from September to November
- Hardy
- Grows to 15cm tall and 10cm wide
- Well-drained soil
- Full sun
- Exposed
Try this delicious recipe in time for Christmas:
Or check out my Pinterest board for more ideas:
David Domoney is a Chartered Horticulturalist, Broadcaster, and Author. David has worked with a number of the UK’s leading garden retailers as a plant buyer and strategic consultant. With more than 30 years experience, in horticulture, David is as passionate about plants now as he was when he bought his first plant at a village fete.
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