Hardy Winter Plants...

Cold weather can kill off even the toughest garden plants, as the cold causes the water in plant cells to freeze, damaging the cell wall. Even hardy plants and evergreens can be damaged by severe cold weather when soil becomes frozen. Plants die from lack of moisture too, when the ground freezes and they can’t take up water. Keep a close eye on your plants to avoid losing them to plummeting temperatures!

Autumn is a good time to plant flowers ready for spring, and some of our favourite plants will even produce a flower or two during the winter if it’s mild, and will give your garden a big burst of colour when spring arrives.

Try adding a few of these bedding plants in the next month or so, and wait for a bright and colourful spring...

1. Pansies
Pansy plants bloom longer than any other winter flowering bedding plant, so if you need a splash of colour in your flower beds, borders or hanging baskets, invest in some pretty winter-flowering pansies. Grow some in a sunny or partly shaded parts of the garden, and make sure you dead-head them regularly to keep them flowering.

2. Violas
These produce lots of little dainty flowers, and are just as versatile as pansies. Great for hanging baskets, some varieties even have a lovely fragrance.

3. Primroses
Modern varieties of primrose start flowering from mid-winter onwards, and they are available in a range of colours to brighten up your garden. Primroses work well in borders and bedding, and can also be added to window boxes for a bit of colour on a dull day.

4. Polyanthus
Polyanthus are colourful and long-lasting, which makes them superb winter bedding plants. They also suit baskets and boxes.

5. Wallflower
These smell gorgeous and look lovely in the garden, when they flower. Although traditional varieties tended to flower in spring, modern variations also have a floral display in autumn, which can last a while if carefully tended.

6. Stock
These are always popular in for winter, with their large, ruffled, fragrant floral spikes which appear from mid-spring through to mid-summer. During winter, they show a rosette of leaves which bursts into bloom in spring.

7.Forget-me-not
A great partner to spring bulbs, Forget-me-nots are traditionally blue, but also look gorgeous in pink and white, self-seeding to give the garden an almost permanent display.

8. Cyclamen coum
A true winter-flowering plant, Cyclamen coum is a colourful addition to your garden even during the cold January and February weather. Cyclamen has dainty flowers and marbled leaves, and the blooms will inject a welcome splash of pink into your winter garden.

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