Autumn/Winter flowers

Callicarpa! Yes, that is a lovely little shrub, really vibrant coloured berries.

There are shrubs that will give colour in the winter; Acuba has variegated leaves and bright red berries, and there is a thing with purple berries on that I can't remember the name of. Red and yellow dogwood stems look striking in the winter too. Up here, most of my flowers have gone over. There are one or two things - dahlias, cosmos and marigolds, asters mostly - then I don't expect to see anything but shrubs and winter heathers until the Spring bulbs come up.

I was really aiming for the dead of winter in my choices. Currently I have quite a few clematis - there is a lovely shrubby one called 'Wyevale', absolutely beautiful, with masses of curly light blue flowers. Masses of hardy chrysanths, quite a few roses, late salvias are the x jamensis varieties, fuchsias, rosa The Fairy keeps on going until Christmas easily, phloxes as long as they are in shady areas, asters of course, buddleias, perennial erysimum 'bowles mauve' which flowers all year in sheltered areas, solidago, rudbeckias, geranium 'rozanne', hebes, Japanese anemones, trachelospermum jasminoides is fully out and the ordinary jasmine is out again too, and that is just what I can see from sitting here. Oh and that red or white stuff that grows all over walls that I can never remember its name. Valerian, that's it. As well as the sedums.

Most nurseries will try to sell anything they can while it's still in flower or looks good from a foliage point of view. It's worth visiting one each month to see what they have.

Sounds good Susan.

Had a similar thread going a week or so ago where some people came up with ideas. Huecheras and euonymous are on my list to aquire. I would have a jasmine, but mother does not like it.

I have just been up to mothers to check on the garden. currently the rudbekias are flowering nicely.

The things that are currently giving colour/interest:
hebes. got a pinky leaved version that claims to be evergreen. picked it up at morrisons over the summer for about four pounds each.
heather. lime greensih foliage. it was flowering in february when I bought it. waiting to see whether it will flower again. (three pounds at asda)
pansies and violas have just been planted.
lobelia are still flowering.
some antirrh antirinu ante snapdragons are still flowering.
aubretia are forming green clumps as are thrift. these flower around may but give some green through the winter.
dianthus are flowering. there are several that have silvery leaves and give interest. one of them flowers continuously all year.

the crocuses are very slow to establish as were the snowdrops which one should buy them as plants not bulbs.

I have improved it massively from a bunch of dead sticks from november until may. (then a bunch of tired gone over stuff from june until november)

there is an astilbe that needs to be hoiked out an moved to the back garden and replaced with something that gives more for the space it occupies.

If you can do tall, michaelmass daisies are in flower now. (except mine, which were moved from the very front of the border and then got swamped by the peony, which is mother's favourite and I have to garden around. It really ought to be somewhere else other than a small front border, but hey ho, it's staying as long as mother is)

hihi not around here jingl- we have 6ft + of snow- white is a lovely 'colour' ;)

Me!

I don't think there is much colour to be had from November till early Spring. The odd determined rose perhaps.

Winter flowering heathers? Mine flower in Jan/Feb.

Yes forgot those J. Anenomes, we have the pink varieties.Also red gallardias go on into Autumn, and are really hardy.

Japanese anemones are good for height and autumn colour, pink or white and don't need staking.

sedums are fabulous and covered with bees at the mo, I have both the green and red leaves ones- small flowered purple asters too, I seem to have 3 species, same flower, but different heights, and lots of the perennial I Chelsea chopped after flowering are flowering again, like veronicas and some wild geraniums- and lots of 'rudbekia' somespecies with yellow flowers. All those get covered with tons of snow every winter, and come up again as by miracle every year.

Asters,dahlias,crysanths, red hot pokers,hellebores.

Sedums, we have lots, and bees love them they are very hardy perennials.

Thanks Jane I will look them up

Winter flowering jasmine, cyclamen coum, bergenias are good as they have colour in the leaves as well as flowers in February. Winter jasmine has nice bright green stems with the yellow flowers, but you need to grow it up or against something and trim it to a shape you like.