Winter beds and borders

Gardens are often neglected in winter
once most showy flowers have faded,
but with the right plants, they can still
be enchanting places at this time of
year. Plants with winter interest often
have special, rather subtle qualities,
such as sweetly scented flowers,
attractive stems, foliage, seedheads,
berries, or structural shapes.
Pictures clockwise from top left
Winter flowers Hellebores, such as Helleborus x
hybridus, are among the best winter-blooming plants.
Flowering from midwinter to mid-spring, these clumpforming
evergreen perennials are easily grown in light
shade in any good soil, and form good ground cover
when planted in drifts. Other perennials with winter
interest worth seeking out include mauve-flowered Iris
unguicularis and Arum italicum ‘Marmoratum’, with its
white-veined leaves.

Transient beauty Frost and snow add an element
of short-lived beauty to the garden in winter, often
transforming it overnight. A light covering of snow
or a hard frost can enhance structures, highlighting
architectural features and plants and briefly changing
the whole feel of a garden.
Scented highlights Mahonias are among the finest
evergreen shrubs for winter, with their spiny foliage and
sweetly scented yellow blooms, followed by blue-tinged
berries. They are also useful for their architectural form,
which makes them an attractive backdrop for other
plants such as Euonymus, with its colorful fruit.
Graceful grasses The seedheads of some grasses will
survive well into winter, providing a touch of unexpected
grace to plantings, especially when dusted with frost.
Translucent, they allow views through to plants behind,
such as the fruit-laden branches of a crabapple (Malus).
Scented shrubs Some shrubs flower in winter, such as
witch hazel (Hamamelis) with its orange, yellow, or red
spiderlike blooms. Other shrubs worth considering for
their delicious scent include the honeysuckle Lonicera x
purpusii and Chimonanthus praecox