There’s plenty of interest in the garden now and here’s a selection of a few plants in flower and looking great at the moment.

Anemone blanda
Bearing cheerful, daisy-like flowers in a range of colours including shades of blue, purple, pink and white in March and April. It’s great for naturalising under trees and shrubs.

 

 

Camellia sasanqua ‘Paradise Pearl’
I spotted this beauty whilst enjoying a visit to Nymans gardens recently. It starts off with soft pink buds that then open to masses of pure white semi double to double flowers with yellow stamens. If you have slightly acidic soil, this is the plant for you.

 

Cornus sanguinea ‘Midwinter Fire’
This deciduous shrub has oval, mid-green leaves and produces small, creamy-white flowers in May and June. But it’s really grown for the brilliant, flame-coloured stems that are revealed when the leaves, which turn orange-yellow in autumn, fall. It’s best in full sun, and works particularly well with red or purple-stemmed varieties of dogwood. The upright stems need to be cut back hard in early spring to promote long shoot extensions.

Cyclamen
This delightful perennial provides colour often when little else is flowering, particularly in late winter or early spring. They are ideal for naturalising under trees, on banks or in a shady border. They make ideal companions for hellebores, snowdrops and other spring flowering bulbs. All have exquisite flowers and often have quite distinct fragrances, but even when not in flower, the foliage of many of these cyclamen species is outstanding.

Daphne bholua’Jacqueline Postill’
‘Jacqueline Postill’ has clusters of small, highly fragrant purplish-pink and white flowers held in clusters in January and February followed by rounded, purple-black berries. Place it next to a path where its fragrance can be appreciated as the fragrance produced is really uplifting as if wafts through the winter garden

 

Euphorbia characias subsp.
This handsome Euphorbia has large, dome-shaped, chartreuse-green flowers produced on towering spikes high above the foliage from March to May. It will bring structure and architectural quality to any garden.

 

Hamamelis x intermedia ‘Pallida’
This shrub has highly fragrant sulphur-yellow flowers on its bare stems from January to February. These are then followed by large, green foliage that turns yellow and orange in autumn, before falling to reveal its arching and spreading form.

 

 

Kerria japonica
This is a deciduous spring flowering shrub that produces a mass of large, single, buttercup-like golden yellow flowers on graceful arching stems in March and April. It’s a perfect plant for brightening a dark corner or woodland edge. There is also a double-flowered variety – Kerria japonica ‘Pleniflora’.

 

Magnolia x soulangeana
If you are looking for an ornamental tree that will tolerate wet, soggy soil, you need to look no further than a magnolia. They prefer moist, slightly acidic soil that has been improved with compost or leaf mould as this will get the tree off to a good start.

 

Magnolia stellata
The flowers on Magnolia stellata are lightly scented and open around March/April time before the leaves appear. It’s one of the best magnolias for a small garden.

 

 

Prunus ‘Matsumae amayadori’
Perhaps better known as the Japanese flowering Cherry. Its name, literally, means ‘Matsumae-big-wave’ for its big white flowers with waving petals. It is an eye-catching, small, upright tree with clusters of white flowers which makes a fantastic feature tree with plenty of spring interest.

 

 Sarcococca confusa
Is a bushy evergreen shrub with sweetly scented, pure white flowers from December to March which is then followed by glossy black berries. It is a perfect shrub for a shady border or woodland garden. To fully appreciate the fabulous, vanilla-like fragrance plant in moist, well-drained soil close to an entrance or path. I also take cuttings from it whilst in flower to bring into the house where the fragrance is capable of filling a room.

Viburnum × bodnantense ‘Dawn’
This is a fantastic winter-flowering shrub, perfect to place by a pathway in which to enjoy its sweetly scented blooms. You’ll find dense clusters of fragrant, dark pink flowers on bare stems from around November until March.