7 Winter-Blooming Plants Thriving at the New York Botanical Garden in February – and You Can Grow Them in Your Backyard, Too
How to get the best results from these winter-blooming stars
Take a stroll through any thoughtfully designed garden early in the year and you'll be sure to spot many spectacular winter blooms. Their captivating, jewel-like qualities shine out against the subdued sky.
Across the year these perennials, bulbs and shrubs may not be the showiest of specimens but they possess a charm all of their own. From witch hazel's fiery ribbons, the elegant muted tones of hellebores and the seductive tassels of diminutive sweet box, there are floral winter gems for every aspect and soil type, as clearly seen when exploring The New York Botanical Garden.
1. Helleborus orientalis
You can’t fail to notice a hellebore in full bloom. Peer into their large open blooms and you will be instantly besotted with their gently muted petals that are often freckled with burgundy or smudged with lime.
A long-lived, woodland perennial, hellebores prefer a shady spot with moist yet well-draining soil.
‘I love the muted blooms of hellebores: blacks, deep reds, greens,’ says Colin Kirk, Manager of Outdoor Gardens at The New York Botanical Garden. ‘If one is willing to cut back last year’s foliage before the bloom, the effect is even better especially when mass planted.’
Spot the first hellebore blooms in December and with several different varieties to choose from, expect the show to continue well into early spring.
Plants form clumps 16-24 inches (40-60 cm) tall and make a stunning spectacle naturalized beneath trees and shrubs or as a contrast in a mixed perennial border. Varieties to look out for include the serene Pink Frost, Frostkiss Cherisa, with its unusual chartreuse petals edged in pink, and palest pink-cream Moondance, all from Amazon.
Colin Kirk joined New York Botanical Garden in 2023 as the Marjorie G. Rosen Manager of Outdoor Gardens, where he oversees a team of twelve horticultural staff that take care of the formal gardens. He has previously worked as a lead gardener at Queens Botanical Garden in Flushing, New York. He is responsible for creating the current curriculum for the Woody Identification Class at Brooklyn Botanic Garden where he has also taught for the last six years. Before this, Colin was the lead horticulturist at New York Green Roofs, a boutique green roof design firm.
2. Viburnum x Bodnantense Dawn
Appearing as early as November through to March, this hardy, winter flowering shrub bears clusters of deep pink flowers on leafless stems.
Highly perfumed, viburnum's long-lasting petals gradually fade to white before maturing into small, purple berries in summer.
Green foliage turns a spectacular combination of yellow and gold in fall, before the blooms reappear a month or two later.
Fast growing, this shrub is best suited to full sun or part shade and reaches heights of 9.8ft (3m), with a spread of 6.5ft (2m). Flowers are prone to frost damage, so best plant in a sheltered spot. If you are particularly concerned, try a Tree frost jacket such as this one from Amazon.
Standout varieties include Viburnum × bodnantense 'Charles Lamont', white flowering Viburnum x bodnantense ‘Deben’, and the much-lauded Viburnum x Bodnantense Dawn.
3. Witch Hazel
The spicy scent of witch hazel is distinctive, uplifting and is noticed long before the fiery blooms come into view.
The long lasting ribbon-like blooms are born on smooth gray, elegant branches and come in various colors. From glowing copper, deep fuchsia to pale lemon, there are plenty of options to fill your yard.
‘With Witch Hazel, you are designing for the light,’ Gerardo Loayza, Founder & CEO of Bacqyard. ‘The petals are crinkly and thin, which means they look incredible when they are backlit. I try to position these on the west side of a property where the low, late-afternoon winter sun shines through the branches. It makes the whole shrub look like it's glowing.
There are numerous witch hazel varieties to get to know and together they flower from December through to early March.
4. Oriental Paperbush
Fascinating clusters of velvety trumpet-like blooms born on bare stems
You can’t fail to be captivated by Edgeworthia chrysantha and its pompoms of velvety trumpets. Appearing on bare stems from January through to April, the flowers have a sweet, clove-like fragrance.
An underrated winter flower, it can tolerate temperatures as low as 23F (-5C) but thrives best in a sheltered, sunny or part shady spot.
‘I’m actually obsessed with this plant for winter interest. It looks almost architectural, like a sculpture,’ says Gerardo Loayza. ‘The trick is to plant it against a dark backdrop, like a deep green hedge or a charcoal-painted fence. Those silvery buds and yellow blooms just pop against a dark wall.’
Reaching a height and spread of 4.9ft (1.5m), paperbush can be grown in a pot as long as the roots are kept moist when young.
Gerardo is the CEO and founder of landscape design company Bacqyard. He is a passionate landscape designer who offers outdoor designs at competitive prices.
5. Sweet Box
Dazzling blooms and a seductive scent herald the presence of Sweet Box.
With dark, glossy leaves and tiny, white blooms, Sarcococca confusa is a sophisticated shrub. Tiny, tasselled flowers appear in winter and last to early spring, but it is the fragrance that is the star quality here, as Gerardo explains.
‘Don’t waste this one in the back of the yard. It’s all about the scent. ‘I tell clients to plant this strictly by the front door or along the main walkway to the driveway. You want that heavy vanilla fragrance to hit you right when you walk out of the house.’
Low growing and spreading to 3-5 ft (95-151cm), this evergreen ground cover hero is happy in USDA zones 7-9 and is perfect for growing below taller shrubs and trees.
Easy to keep in check, this resilient plant only needs the occasional trim with sharp, clean hedge shears, available from Amazon.
6. Snowdrop
Delicate snowdrops are a sure sign that spring is drawing near.
An important food source for solitary bees and early emerging pollinators, snowdrops put on a magical show.
'Galanthus are more than just delicate blooms; they are nature’s marvels,’ says horticultural expert Peggy Anne Montgomery. ‘Unlike most plants that retreat from the cold, snowdrops embrace it. They generate heat through thermogenesis, melting the snow around them and emerging even if snow is on the ground.’
‘Snowdrops are small bulbs planted in the fall and hardy in Zones 3 to 7,’ continues Peggy Anne. ‘They will grow in full sun to light shade in well-drained soil, reaching just six to ten inches tall. They multiply quickly, putting on a bigger show each year.’
The most successful method for planting snowdrops is to buy the bulbs in the green, that is, post flowering but still in leaf. Gently tease the bundles apart, and use a small, narrow trowel, such as this one from Amazon to plant the bulbs, so the lower white stem is below the ground.
Peggy Anne Montgomery is a horticulturist with more than 35 years of U.S. and international experience in trade- and consumer-focused garden marketing and communications, public relations and outreach, landscape design, and public horticulture. She studied horticulture and apprenticed in the Netherlands where she raised a family and owned a landscape design firm for 10 years. Today, she represents Flowerbulb.eu a website designed to inspire and educate gardeners about flower bulbs.
7. Winter sweet
Sunshine on a stem, the winter blooms of Chimonanthus praecox 'Luteus' are a welcome sight.
The sight of these paper-thin blooms born on bare, grey stems is always uplifting. A rare floral treat in January and February, wintersweet has a glimmering sunshine quality, not to mention a delightfully spicy fragrance.
Slow growing, these plants are hardy in HDSA Zones 7 - 9 and prefer a sunny yet sheltered spot, in moist soil.
Varieties include all yellow Chimonanthus praecox 'Luteus' and Chimonanthus praecox with its bright yellow petals surrounding a darker purple centre.
Looking for more seasonal inspiration to pep up your yard? then be sure to check out these unexpected winter color palette ideas and winter flowering ideas in all the colors of the rainbow.
