You deserve a winter garden splashed with colour to brighten up otherwise cold and dark days.  

For those with an established garden featuring plenty of winter-flowering plants, you'll appreciate how there's something to flower for every spot in the garden. What's more, many of these plants make good cut flowers which you can bring into your home. 

We've picked our nine best winter-flowering plants for you to grow.  

Most can be planted now, bringing immediate joy to your garden, and nearly all are suitable for growing in pots. So don't delay in creating an unbelievable space to enjoy during these last months of the cold season. You'll benefit some pollinators, too, such as winter bumblebees. 

Cyclamen  

Cyclamen coum is a delightful tuberous perennial proving colour often when little else is flowering, particularly in late winter or early spring. 

This hardy species is ideal for naturalising under trees, at the base of small shrubs, on banks, in a shady border and in grass. They thrive when planted in association with other early-flowering woodland plants such as snowdrops, winter aconites and primroses. 

Bearing delicate silver-lined dark green leaves, these plants develop dainty blooms in shades of white and pink from January to April.   

Daphne 

Clusters of small, sweetly scented, pale pink flowers open from purple-pink buds in January among lustrous, lance-shaped, dark green leaves with yellow margins. The flowers are followed by spherical, red fruit. This evergreen shrub thrives in a sunny, sheltered position where its handsome, variegated foliage will brighten the winter garden. Try it at the edge of a mixed border or next to a path where you and your visitors can appreciate its intoxicating fragrance. 

These colourful shrubs are fantastic for small gardens, with various types perfect for different situations, such as in window boxes, large containers, mixed borders, areas of dry shade and gravel gardens. 

A sought after shrub for any winter garden, the Daphne Odora Aureomarginata has won an RHS Award of Garden Merit. 

Jeanne D’Arc

The pure white flowers of this Crocus Bulb are a most welcomed harbinger of spring. They’re not only beautiful but also quite hardy and drought tolerant. Plant in either sun or partial shade, and water normally for best results. Crocus bulbs are also excellent attractors of beneficial bees, butterflies, and birds. 

Large-flowered crocus bulbs like Jeanne D’Arc make perfect partners to other winter bedding such as Polyanthus, Pansies and Violas. In addition, the vibrant white colours make it an ideal addition to planting containers in towns and villages. 

Snowdrop

The snowdrop is usually the first flower to appear in a new year and heralds the promise of spring.  

Each stalk produces one nodding flower head with white outer and inner petals, tinged with green. The flower heads are followed by green seed pods, which distribute the seeds close by to form spreading snowdrop colonies. The leaves are long, narrow and greyish-green.  

Snowdrops are relatively common in Britain and grow mainly in deciduous woods and beside streams. Flowering from January to March, you'll want to purchase your Nivalis - Galanthus Bulbs now. 

Flower Record 

The beautiful deep purple flowers of this crocus brighten up any garden or formal planting scheme in the depths of winter. Planted in either sun or partial shade, they’re excellent for attracting bees, butterflies and birds. 

Try underplanting your Flower Records in containers with daffodils and tulips: 

Use a large container with a drainage hole at the bottom, cover with decorative gravel or broken terracotta pot and add a layer of bulb fibre or soil-based compost. Plant the daffodils and cover them with soil. Next, add the tulips and then cover them with more soil. Finally, add the crocus and filling to within 50cm of the top of the pot. Water well and watch them grow.  

Anemone Blue Shades 

These delightful, bright, daisy-like blooms will add a blue haze to your late winter garden. The deep cobalt blue flowers, also known as winter windflowers, look fantastic when planted in groups in naturalised woodlands, parks and everyday gardens. Purchase your bulbs and soak for 24 hours before planting. 

Camellia Japonica Roger Hall 

Camellia Roger Hall is a vigorous, upright, evergreen shrub with elliptic, glossy, dark green leaves and double red flowers from late winter into spring. Purchase yours in a one-litre pot   

Viola Blue 

Violas are remarkably versatile plants and suit a range of garden situations. They are typically lower growing than pansies, with smaller, more abundant flowers. Many violas form a trailing habit and look fabulous in a hanging basket, patio pot or window box. 

Violas may or may not flower throughout the winter, depending on the autumn weather. However, during a mild autumn, they will begin to produce flowers which will hold until the spring when new flowers grow and take their place.  

As cooler bloomers, violas are perfect for beginning and ending the flowering period in your garden, or if the autumn and winter are mild, they’ll bridge the seasons with colour. 

Pinch off the Viola flowers should be pinched off once they've bloomed and have begun to wither. This will extend the flowering period, with new flowers encouraged, and prevent energy from diverting into seeds. 

Available to purchase in a 9cm pot  

Tete a Tete 

Early-flowering daffodils, like narcissus cyclamineus tete a tete, have deep golden yellow flowers, with each stem having up to three blooms. 

Our most popular miniature narcissi makes the perfect companion plant to winter bedding, borders, patio containers, and indoor pots. 

The deep golden yellow flowers appear in early spring, with each stem having up to 3 blooms. When planted in drifts, Tete a Tete makes an excellent plant for naturalising in landscape areas. 

Your winter dreamscape  

People are most drawn to colour in a garden, and just because it's winter doesn't mean your garden should be dreary. So whether you plant our top nine suggestions now or are planning for next winter, nothing beats the feeling of transforming your garden into a kaleidoscope of brilliant colour in the dreariest of seasons.  

Always source your plants from a reputable garden centre, like UCS Fresh Garden. For any winter planting advice, we're always available to guide you!