Winter plants

WITH STAYING POWER

1 Sweet box

Sarcococca confusa – this glossy-leaved evergreen packs a punch with its sweet vanilla-scented tiny white flowers and will cope with shade.

2 Silver grass

Miscanthus sinensis ‘Morning Light’ – this green and cream clump-forming grass fades to a straw colour.

3 Cyclamen

Cyclamen coum – these robust little perennials bear magenta, pink or white flowers and their leaves are often interestingly marked with silver.

4 Holly

Look for Ilex ‘Handsworth New Silver’ with its white-margined glossy leaves and bright red berries.

5 Turkish sage

Phlomis russeliana – pompoms of dried flower heads punctuate the tall stems of this statuesque perennial and stand like this all winter long.

6 Skimmia

Skimmia x confusa ‘Kew Green’ – the greenishwhite flower buds of this compact evergreen

shrub provide lasting winter interest against its dark-green leaves.

7 Crab apple

Malus x robusta ‘Red Sentinel’ – with persistent ruby red fruit in winter, white spring flowers and good autumn colour, this is a real all-rounder.

8 Coronilla

Coronilla valentina subsp. glauca ‘Citrina’ – a long name but well worth growing for its delicate primrose-yellow flowers against pretty foliage.

9 Snowdrops

Imbued with optimism, snowdrops are the ultimate winter flower. Galanthus nivalis will carpet the ground, and there are hundreds of named ones to collect.

10 Witch hazel

There are many fine varieties of witch hazel to look for, including sulphur-yellow Hamamelis ‘Pallida’ (shown) and H. ‘Robert’ – the flowers on its bare stems look like the orange shred in marmalade.

11 Daphne

Daphne bholua ‘Jacqueline Postill’ – can any winter garden be complete without this absolute winner? Fragrant, semi-evergreen and strongly upright.

12 Hybrid Lenten rose

Helleborus x hybridus – these well-bred, largeflowered beauties flower from December through to March. Look out for ‘Harvington’ cultivars such as ‘Apricot’ , ‘Pictotee’ and ‘Dusky’.