Best winter-flowering plants

Some winter-flowering plants also benefit pollinators, such as winter bumblebees. Nearly all make good cut flowers.

More on winter flowers:

• Colourful winter containers
• Alan's favourite plants for winter colour
• Make your garden bee-friendly in winter

Browse our pick of the best winter-flowering plants, below.

Winter honeysuckle, Lonicera fragrantissima, bears fragrant, cream-white flowers on almost leafless branches, which are a magnet for winter-active bumblebees. These are sometimes followed by dull-red berries.

Flowers: December to February
H x S: 2m x 3m

Buy Winter honeysuckle at Crocus for £16.99

Christmas rose, Helleborus niger, is the first of the hellebores to flower, usually in January but occasionally as early as Christmas. It bears large, round, white flat-faced flowers above low-growing mounds of leathery, deep green foliage. It’s perfect for growing at the front of a partially shaded border.

Flowers: January to March
H x S: 45cm x 45cm

Buy Christmas rose at Crocus for £8.99

Pansies, Viola x wittrockiana, are low-growing, bushy perennials that are usually grown as annual bedding plants. They have large, striking flowers, larger than those of violas, and heart-shaped leaves. The colourful, often bicoloured flowers have darker, face-like markings in the centre. Most cultivars flower in spring and summer but some have been bred to bloom in winter, offering a cheerful display of colour when little else is in flower.

Flowers: November to March
H x S: 20cm x 30cm

Buy Pansies at Crocus for £24.99

Winter aconites bear golden yellow buttercup-like flowers, surrounded by divided leafy bracts, from mid- to late-winter. Clumps quickly spread and makes a dramatic yellow carpet just as the first snowdrops begin to bloom. It’s perfect for planting beneath trees or naturalising in grass.

Flowers: February to March
H x S: 10cm x 13cm

Buy Winter aconites at Crocus for £8.98

Daphnes are colourful shrubs, usually blooming in late winter and early spring. They’re 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. There are both evergreen and deciduous varieties. Most bear clusters of small flowers in shades of red or pink and sometimes white or green.

Flowers: February to March
H x S: 1m x 50cm

Buy Daphne at Crocus for £9.99

Snowdrops are the first bulbs of the year to flower, heralding the end of winter. There's a variety of different types to grow, ranging from single- to doubled-flowered types.

Flowers: January to March
H x S: 15cm x 10cm

Buy Snowdrops at Crocus for £5.99

Popular with winter-active bumblebees, mahonias bear slender spikes of bright yellow flowers above evergreen rosettes of glossy dark green leaves. Grow in moist but well-drained soil in partial shade.

Flowers: November to March

H x S: 5m x 4m

Winter clematis, Clematis cirrhosa, is a perennial climber with glossy, evergreen foliage. Flowers are usually a creamy colour, depending on the cultivar, and have a delicate citrus fragrance. As a group one clematis, they don't need pruning, though this can be done lightly, straight after flowering, to restrict their size.

Flowers: December to January
H x S: 2.5m x 1.75m

Buy Winter clematis at Amazon for £9.50

Winter-flowering heathers are particularly useful for bringing colour to winter containers. Planted in the ground, heathers will gradually spread, inhibiting weeds as they go. Popular with bees.

Flowers: February to March
H x S: 1.5m x 80cm

Buy winter-flowering heather at Amazon for £12.49

Hardy cyclamen, Cyclamen coum, is a pretty hardy perennial, bearing delicate silver-lined dark green leaves and dainty blooms in shades of white, pink and red, from late winter to early spring. It’s perfect for growing at the base of small shrubs and trees, and naturalising in grass.

Flowers: January to April
H x S: 8cm x 10cm

Buy Cyclamen hederifolium at Crocus for £4.49

More winter-flowering plants:

• Quince
• Viburnum × bodnantense
• Winter cherry
• Winter jasmine
• Early flowering daffodils
• Sweet box
• Witch hazel