Great shrubs for winter interest
Christopher Bailes, former curator of RHS Garden Rosemoor, now curator of Chelsea Physic Garden, recommends favourites for the winter garden.
There is an ever-widening palette of plants for winter interest for gardeners to choose from - so many, in fact, that it can be difficult to make a choice if you have only room for one or two.
Taking into account dependability, flowering, and where possible, scent, these are probably some of the finest. Plant one or more of these and you can count on months of interest between autumn and spring.
Camellia x williamsii 'Saint Ewe' AGM
If limited to just one camellia this is the one I’d choose. A vigorous handsome shrub to 3m (10ft), it bears warm rose-pink single flowers in huge numbers from as early as January, continuing into April. The flowers seem reasonably frost-resistant and when they die, they don't hang onto to the shrub looking brown and untidy, but fall neatly off to carpet the ground. Read more about Camellia x williamsii 'Saint Ewe' in RHS Plant Selector.
Cornus mas 'Golden Glory' AGM
Vigorous and easily pleased, this form of the Cornus (also known as Cornelian cherry) grows into a large, upright shrub, and bears abundant small yellow flowers on leafless twigs in February, giving an effect similar to a witch hazel. As a bonus, if conditions permit, the flowers are followed by large red, edible cherry-like fruits. Autumn colour is usually good too before the leaves fall. Read more on Cornus mas 'Golden Glory' in RHS Plant Selector.
Edgeworthia chrysantha
A classy relative of the Daphne, the deciduous Edgeworthia grows into a spreading dome-shaped shrub to 1.5m (4ft) high. Dense clusters of buds covered in white silky hairs open to fragrant yellow flowers from February onwards, depending upon conditions. Previously rather rare, this desirable plant is becoming more readily available; ‘Red Dragon’, a distinct orange-red cultivar, is worth seeking out.
Hamamelis x intermedia 'Barmstedt Gold' AGM
This is a very fine witch hazel, colourful and standing out superbly in the garden, with plenty of generous-sized, mildly scented flowers of strong yellow-orange from mid to late winter. Initially upright in growth, it eventually forms a dome 3.5m (12ft) high and wide. Read more about Hamamelis x intermedia 'Barmstedt Gold' in RHS Plant Selector.
Lonicera standishii 'Budapest'
This semi-evergreen winter-flowering shrubby honeysuckle is welcome for its numerous, scented pink-tinged white flowers, produced in pairs along the branches for a long season from mid-winter onwards and followed by red berries. Growing to 2m (7ft) tall, hardy and resilient, it thrives in full sun or part shade, but the qualities of ‘Budapest’ are best appreciated if grown in a sheltered position.
Daphne bholua
This is one of the finest shrubs for winter scent, flowering typically in January and February. D. Bhoula ‘Jacqueline Postill’ typifies its qualities; hardy, upright in growth to over 2m (7ft) and semi-evergreen, the branches are wreathed in an abundance of powerfully fragrant pink-white flowers. Other cultivars are becoming more available: one of the most distinctive is ‘Peter Smithers’, with deep purple-pink buds opening to pink flowers which then darken with age. ‘Alba’, as its name suggests, is pure white, slightly smaller in growth and flower, but the equal in beauty of all of the other forms of this superlative species. Read more about Daphne bhoula 'Jacqueline Postill' in RHS Plant Selector.