Enjoy LITTLE MIRACLES
Despite their delicate looks, these tiny woodland and alpine flowers are tough enough to withstand the rigours of an icy winter
Although many plants struggle in frosty conditions, some dainty little flowers thrive in icy winter weather. Small, delicate-looking plants such as snowdrops, winter aconites, crocus, cyclamen and winter pansies power through frost and snow, briefly drooping before resurrecting as soon as the weather warms up.
Many of these tiny winter-flowering plants have adaptations that help them cope with a big freeze. Low-growing snowdrops, for instance, have hardened leaves that help them push up through frozen soil. Their tiny stature means they can shelter close to the ground, making them less exposed to cold winter winds. Their robust, almost-waxy winter flowers droop down, helping them to shrug off rain and snow.
Both snowdrops and crocuses are alpine plants, used to cold mountainous conditions at altitude. They contain their own ‘antifreeze’, made of proteins that lower the freezing point of their cells. The natural habitat of Iris reticulata is in the mountains of the Middle East, so they can easily survive a British winter, bringing a welcome splash of violet blue that shines out across the garden.
Tiny woodland flowers that carpet the ground beneath deciduous trees also offer an optimistic fanfare for spring. Among the best are delicate-looking Cylamen coum, whose perky pink flowers hover above silvery foliage from January to March, and the golden chalices of winter aconites, flowering February to March. They’re both perfect for offering much-needed nectar to hungry bumblebees on the wing, roused early from hibernation by warm rays of sunshine on mild winter days. ➤
Their tiny stature means they are less exposed to cold winter winds