Despite the severe frost and snow that December and January brings there are still plants that brave the chill and open into flower on the occasional milder day. As the days of January begin to lengthen, increasing numbers of plants will begin to emerge from their hibernation to be enjoyed while walking around RHS Garden Hyde Hall.
Daphne bholua 'Jacqueline Postill' is a brilliant winter flowering semi-evergreen shrub bearing purple-pink flowers that open during milder spells of weather. They exude a wonderfully rich fragrance that permeates through the garden. This shrub should be planted near the house so you can fully appreciate its fragrance even during the depths of winter.
Witch Hazels provide amazing colour through mid winter when their spidery flowers unfurl. Hamamelis x intermedia 'Jelena' has rich, coppery orange flowers which appear crimped as they open and exude a wonderful fragrance. Hamamelis will form an open, vase-shaped shrub & prefers to be grown in moisture retentive soil that is slightly acidic in part shade, in a sheltered site.
Honeysuckles are a large group of plants that includes commonly grown climbers & several shrubs that make a valuable addition to the garden. Lonicera x purpusii ‘Winter Beauty’ is a deciduous shrub reaching around 2m (7ft). Its buds open during mid winter to produce small, white flowers that hug the bare branches. As well as looking attractive these flowers exude a wonderful fragrance.
Sarcococca ruscifolia 'Dragon Gate' or the Christmas Box, is a small evergreen shrub with glossy dark green leaves that provides useful structure towards the front of a planting. During the winter it bears tiny white flowers in the leaf axils which produce a rich fragrance in the garden.