Colour in the winter-garden

Introduction
Is your garden in the winter boring and lifeless? That doesn’t have to be necessary anymore! With a few plants that produces beautiful flowers and some also scent, your garden don’t have to be boring anymore. This article is about those plants, that you can use to create more colour in your garden for the winter time..

Winter Jasmine (Jasminum nudiflorum) :
The about 1inch yellow blooms appear in late winter/early spring prior to the leaves but, unlike most jasmines they are not fragrant. The stems stay green in the winter. The winter Jasmine is a creeping vine. Care: Grow winter jasmine plants in full sun to partial sun,
in well-drained soils.
USDA Plant Hardiness Zones: Winter jasmine plants can be grown in zones 6-10.

The Christmas rose (Helleborus niger):
 The Christmas rose produces flowers from late fall up until early spring. These evergreen perennials grow 12 to 15 inches tall and have shiny, dark green leathery leaves. Each flower stalk bares a single 2 to 4 inches white bloom. Care: Plant in partial shade. Provide some protection from strong winter winds. They require fertile, well -drained but moist soil.
USDA Plant Hardiness Zones: The Christmas rose can be grown in zones 4-8.

Dawn Viburnum(Viburnum Bodnantense ‘Dawn’):
This specie of the Viburnum produces fragrant pink flowers on bare stems, early in the winter season till March/April. It has dark green, deeply textured leaves during the summer months. Care: plant in a moist, well-drained (border) close to an entrance or path (because there deliciously scented flowers) in sun or partial
shade.
USDA Plant Hardiness Zones: The Dawn Viburnum
can be grown in zones 4-8.
Winter sweet (Chimonanthus praecox):
Is a wall shrub with pale yellow scented flowers on bare stems. It is in flower from November to March, and the seeds ripen from May to June. Although ´Luteus` has a shorter flowering period of February/March. Care: Give it a place in the full sun to light shade, fertile and well-drained soil. Prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils and can grow in very alkaline soil. It can’t grow in the shade.
USDA Plant Hardiness Zones: The Winter Sweet can be grown in zones 7-9.

Snowdrops (Galanthus):
Is a winter/very early spring bulb with milk white, bell-like flowers, about 1 inch long. The plant height is about 4 – 6 inches till sometimes 10 inches tall. Care: Place the bulb in the fall in a moist, humus-rich, well drained soil in a sunny position. You also can place them in pots for the garden.
USDA Plant Hardiness Zones: The Snowdrops can be grown in zones 2 - 9, although maybe they do best in zones 4 – 7.

Marian, Yourgarden Specialist