Best winter shrubs/plants?

Hi Kyleleonard

The viburnums are a fairly diverse bunch, so make sure you get the one you really want. Some are evergreen, some are not. Some are huge shrubs, some are compact. Some flower in the winter, some in spring/summer. And some have a bushy habit, whereas others are more upright.

Viburnum bodnantense 'Dawn' is a deciduous hybrid which will eventually grow into a large shrub which can be 9-12 feet high - although it'll take some time getting there. It is not, it has to be said, particularly beautiful in summer. The leaves are rather ordinary and the plant has upright, stiff stems - although this can sometimes be an advantage if you don't want a shrub which spreads too much. I have V. farreri in my garden, which is quite similar to 'Dawn' as it is one of its parents. In my tiny garden, it serves as a small tree. Its chief attraction, as with 'Dawn', is its clusters of sugared-almond scented flowers, which appear on bare wood after the plant has shed its leaves, in autumn and winter. They are wonderful, particularly when the plant has reached a big enough size to waft the scent all around.

V. opulus or 'guelder rose' is also deciduous, but is a bushy shrub which produces big snowball-like heads of flowers in May and June. They are apparently heavily scented, but this is not a plant I've grown, so I can't comment much.

V. tinus is evergreen and bushy. It has flat heads of pinkish-white flowers over a long period, from November to May. I think of it as one of those easy, obliging but ultimately rather boring plants. (But obviously Bilbo feels differently! It all comes down to personal choice.)

If you would prefer to have an evergreen viburnum with scented flowers, my choice would be V. burkwoodii, which has nice shiny leaves and heads of waxy, pale flowers which have a gorgeous smell. But it's not really winter flowering; it begins to flower in March and goes on until May. It has a bushy, spreading habit when established and grows to about 8 ft.

 

I don't mind buying stuff that will flower next year, but I don't want to buy flowers that will die after the first frost!

These are all great ideas, people, so thanks!

The Burkwoodii looks really nice, difficult choice!