A Gardener’s Miscellany
This week it’s: Flowers in winter
We look some of the stories behind flowers that brighten the coldest season
RECENTLY, I was asked a question I’d never considered before: which flower, for me, most symbolises the winter season? Goodness! Could it be white snowdrops? Or yellow winter aconites? Or perhaps one of the fragrant shrubs: viburnums, winter honeysuckles or sarcococcas? I had to say something so, after much deliberation, I could only come up with a group of plants, not a single plant. I chose the hellebores: they are easy, reliable, generally pest and disease-free and there are some amazing flowers in a huge variety of colours and styles. And I have mental images of them growing through a blanket of snow! What would you choose? Let’s take a look at some stories involving winter flowers.
Hellebores and Lenten roses
FROM early winter,. It
