The start of winter is an ideal time to pack your beds, containers, borders, window boxes, and hanging baskets with an array of picture-perfect winter bedding plants – all of which will add an injection of color to your outdoor space, as well as structural foliage when few other plants are in season.
Here, you’ll find a number of our favorite hardy winter plants that can spruce up your winter garden.
Pansy
A great option when it comes to sourcing plants for winter displays, pansies easily out-bloom any other hardy winter plants. They tend to prefer full sunlight, however, pansies can also thrive in semi-shade. This makes them an ideal option for filling both winter hanging baskets and containers. They’re also extremely useful for plugging gaps in your borders.
For best results, choose bright colors, including blue, purple, orange, red, and yellow. Alternatively, opt for a pansy matrix mix, which, with their sturdy compact stems, they’re able to withstand winter weather conditions, including wind and rain.
Viola
A hardy bedding plant like the viola enjoys a position that receives sunlight or semi-shade. This particular species produces an array of cute, dainty flowers, which sit upon neat, compact stems, creating a subtle yet colorful winter display. Asides from the traditional pansy, dwarf variants are also popular.
As well as their aesthetics, violas boast a delightfully sweet fragrance, which makes them a prevalent option for hanging outside your kitchen window or placing in pots by the back door.
Primrose
Primrose comes in an array of dazzling hues and an assortment of sizes, which makes them a versatile option and one that is suited to an abundance of gardens. The modern-day primrose offers much-improved flowering, which is notable during the months of winter.
They’re a great choice for those who wish to brighten up winter beds, add color to dull borders, window boxes, and containers.
For best results, harden off your primroses prior to planting them. It’s important to water these blooms sparingly, at least until the roots are established.
If using containers, be careful to avoid over-watering, as damp soil and chilly weather encourage rot.
Polyanthus
These plants are both compact and bright, and look a little like primroses. However, the flowers bloom in umbels – in the shape of clusters upon short, sturdy stems.
They’re a good option for gardeners looking for long-lasting blooms and for best results should be planted in a location that boasts sun or semi-shade.
Wallflower
Celebrated for their sweet spring aroma, wallflowers are a popular option for those looking for something rustic. They’re easier to grow than other hardy winter plants. Normally, wallflowers are planted in the autumn to encourage blooms the following spring.
These plants are able to thrive in even the lowest quality of soils and look picture-perfect in window boxes, borders, and containers, producing long-lasting color and a fragrant aroma.
Sweet William
Deliciously aromatic, complete with a striking sturdy, upright stems, these blooms are a popular option for many gardens. They’re also a great choice for cut flowers and will survive the first frost, making them a must-have for those who wish to prolong color in their gardens.
Stock
This popular winter bedding plant comes in the shape of an upright biennial, compete with oversized, ruffled, fragrant blooms, which look a little like spikes.
For maximum impact, it’s wise to plant stocks in large quantities through beds and borders, or alternatively, in pots on the patio. These plants can be sourced in an assortment of attractive pastel shades and can fill your home with a deliciously sweet scent.
Forget-me-not
This aesthetically pleasing hardy winter plant boasts an array of cutesy blooms. Conventionally, these plants are blue, however other versions are available in hues of pink and white. Forget-me-nots prefer well-drained, moist soil, and a spot that gets full sunlight or semi-shade. Provided they are placed in the correct environment, they will happily self-seed for a continuous display in the garden every year.
Bellis
These neat, hardy perennial daisies produce rounded, quilled blooms in shades of red, pink, and white. They’re an ideal option to brighten up a late winter garden. For best results, grow on plug plants until they are large enough to harden off for outdoor planting in the autumn.
Cyclamen
One of the best hardy winter plants available, cyclamen will add an intense hue to your garden, even in the dullest months. They’re also extremely low maintenance and look great when placed in a woodland setting.
They’re also good for ground cover and self-seed to create a floral carpet each year. For a subtle hardy winter plant, choose the cyclamen hederifolium specie, which boasts a series of dainty nodding flowers and eye-catching marbled leaves.
When cared for correctly, hardy winter plants can add an injection of color into your outdoor space, even when the weather is not at its best.
Sources: thompson-morgan.com, gardenersworld.com
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