Winter charmers

When the question ‘what is your favourite winter flower’? is asked, the answer is often dominated by just a few, albeit worthy, contenders. Snowdrops, aconites and crocus generate much excitement in late winter and early spring, and rightly so as their delicate flowers remind us that winter is on the wane. There are though other flowering plants that are worth a place in the winter garden and, although they will never compete with the heavyweights, two in particular that have buckets of charm are Iris unguicularis and Helleborus niger.......

The saying goes that you can find an iris in flower on every day of the year, and the Algerian iris certainly plays its part, taking the baton on undoubtedly the toughest leg of the relay. Surprisingly for such a delicate looking plant and one hailing from the Eastern Mediterranean, this plant is fully hardy. Having said that the flowers themselves are susceptible to frost so planting at the base of south facing wall will produce the best results. The buds however are frost proof and as this plant flowers over a long period there will always be more flowers to follow. In anticipation of a frost the short flower stems can be cut and brought indoors where their scent will be fully appreciated.

The Algerian iris is small (growing to around 30cms), with blue flowers and has strappy, dark green leaves that, like other evergreen perennials, can look a bit tatty. However, tidying up the foliage from time to time is about as much as you will need to do to care for it, as it is one of those lean and mean types that thrive on poor conditions (ideally sharply drained soil) and neglect. Ideal planting companions are silver-foliaged Mediterranean plants, provided they don’t swamp their smaller neighbour.

The Christmas rose, Helleborus niger,  on the other hand prefers a shady place to reside, sheltered from the wind, but will tolerate most soil types, even clay, provided it is moist and fertile. Also known as the Black hellebore, this plant is an evergreen perennials, forming a clump of dark green basal leaves above 45cms across, above which the fleshy flower stems rise gently to no more than 30cms. The flowers are large and mainly white, and surprisingly rarely appear at Christmas. One theory for this is that the name predates the Gregorian calendar, when Christmas day fell two weeks later. Originating in mountainous regions of Eastern Europe, the Christmas rose looks best in a naturalistic setting, planted in big groups and alongside other woodlanders such as ferns, epimediums and pulmonarias.