Top 10 Winter Flowering Plants
When we think of winter, we often think of cold, dull gardens with very little going on, longing for the warmth and colour of spring. Well, you don’t have to wait a whole season for pretty flowers and life! A garden should display its charms year-round. Even during the coldest days of the year you may be surprised to know that many annual flowers, perennials, and flowering shrubs put on a gorgeous winter display. We have put together a collection of the best winter flowering plants to put some floral colour into your winter garden!
Top 10 Winter Flowering Plants in Australia:
Here’s the list of our 10 best winter flowering plants readily available in Australia. Full details and pictures below.
- Winter Daphne
- Hardenbergia ‘Happy Duo’
- Hellebore ‘Winter Rose’
- Camellia sasanqua
- Banksia ‘Cherry Candles’
- Grevillea ‘Strawberry Smoothie’
- Erica ‘Darley Heath’
- Iberis ‘Candy Tuft’
- Cheiranthera ‘Wallflower’
- Rosemary ‘Blue Lagoon’
Honourable Winter Flowering Mentions
- Pieris ‘Debutante’
- Coleonema ‘Pink Diosma’
- Salvia ‘Mexican Bush Sage’
- Convolvulus ‘Silver Bush’
- French Lavender
1. Winter Daphne
Heavily scented and long flowering, Daphne is a fragrant and colourful winter bloomer. They come in shades of white, pink, yellow and cream and are best suited to part shade or full sun positions (provided the soil is moist and well-draining). They can also be planted straight into the garden or kept neatly in a pot!
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2. Hardenbergia ‘Happy Duo’
Known as either a climber or a bushy groundcover, this native is commonly seen throughout the Victorian bushland in vibrant patches of purple. The flowers form in speared clusters of pea-shaped flowers and can be trained over a fence or arbour. Hardenbergia also comes in a white flower and a newer pink variety is now available. The most popular by far, however, is the Hardenbergia ‘Happy Duo’, which displays both purple and white flowers.
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3. Hellebore ‘Winter Rose’
Aptly named, this low growing, almost groundcover plant is named due to the robust star-shaped blooms that appear during winter. The Winter or Lenten Rose comes in varieties of pink, purple, white and green, some with a double petal, others with a single row. They love shaded areas, suiting Japanese, Woodland or Cottage style gardens.
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4. Camellia sasanqua
Camellias are one of the most popular garden plants of all time, and with the enormous choice of varieties and ways you can use them in your garden, it’s not hard to see why. They are often seen as gorgeous feature hedging or as manicured specimen trees, bringing abundant vibrant colour to the garden during the winter months.
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5. Banksia ‘Cherry Candles’
Sturdy, proud cylindrical flowers with a distinct honey smell attract many native birds and bees and the Banksia ‘Cherry Candles’ is a particularly beautiful variety. Banksia are commonly seen showing off their blooms during the winter and feeding the local wildlife. These tough but attractive natives come in various sizes and shapes, suiting many different applications such as groundcovers, hedging & screening or as a feature. The most common winter-flowering varieties include Banksia ‘Cherry Candles’, Banksia spinulosa, the ‘Birthday Candles’ variety and Banksia ericifolia.
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6. Grevillea ‘Strawberry Smoothie’
Whilst we’re on natives, how can we forget Grevillea? Another winter wonder with multifaceted varieties, the Grevillea comes in groundcover forms, low shrub, tall screening or hedging varieties and there is even a Standard Weeping option too! The colour range is also huge! Almost every colour of the rainbow, some with 2-3 colours in the one flower such as the ‘Peaches & Cream’ or ‘Black Magic’ varieties. But the real show stopper is the Grevillea ‘Strawberry Smoothie’. This robust groundcover is awash with vibrant pink flowers during the winter and its compact foliage makes it a must in any garden.
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7. Erica ‘Darley Heath’
This stunning low maintenance shrub is aglow throughout the winter with a profusion of tiny pink cup-shaped flowers. These flowers make an excellent addition to bouquets as their colour and form last for a very long time. They’re also incredibly hardy and require very little attention. Did we mention it also comes in white!
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8. Iberis ‘Candytuft’
Iberis ‘Candytuft’ is a must have in the winter garden as it is a prolific flowerer, tolerates frosts and the cold of winter, and is quite versatile. Often used in pots & containers, as garden edging or a garden filler, this beautiful little cottage perennial will liven up your garden.
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9. Cheiranthera ‘Wallflower’
A cottage perennial that will surprise you! The quiet achiever of the winter garden is sure to be the Chieranthera ‘Wallflower’. A low maintenance, low growing and hardy cottage perennial that comes in a wide range of colours. Plus these cute little flowers have a fragrance to entice you out into the cold for a whiff.
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10. Rosemary ‘Blue Lagoon’
‘Blue Lagoon’ Rosemary is a top performer all year around, so it’s no wonder it’s on our top winter flowering list. Preferring a full sun position to get the best results, this hardy groundcover flowers a brilliant blue and has highly fragrant foliage used in delicious winter roasts, yum!
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Honourable Mentions
We obviously couldn’t stop at 10! Here are a few more absolutely fabulous looking winter flowering plants.
Pieris ‘Debutante’
A gorgeous, chandelier toting shrub or tree, Pieris bloom delicate clusters of white heart-shaped flowers in the late winter to early spring. The ‘Lily of the Valley’ tree is often used as a feature in the garden or in pots, provided it is trimmed. The ‘Debutante’ has delicate creamy white blooms that stand out against the drabness of the winter garden. It is a truly gorgeous feature tree.
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Coleonema ‘Pink Diosma’
Coleonema are beautifully soft shrubs, their fragrant foliage lending itself to being topiarized and hedge. These gorgeous plants are seen over many suburbs as they are versatile, relatively low maintenance and are incredibly hardy. Plus they produce tiny star shaped flowers from autumn through to spring.
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Salvia ‘Mexican Bush Sage’
A bee favourite and a favourite among veggie and cottage gardeners alike. Salvia attracts many varieties of bees and butterflies into the garden with their vast array of colours. The fact that most Salvias have a long flowering period is an added bonus, blooming from autumn through to spring. Popular winter flowering varieties include leucanthe ‘Mexican Bush Sage’, involucrata ‘Joan Spires’ and ‘Mystic Spires’.
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Convolvulus ‘Silverbush’
This silver sensation has stunning white flowers that, when they bloom, cover the entire plant with white! It is a stunning edging and potted plant that requires little to no maintenance. Plus it flowers from spring through to autumn and sneakily into winter. With such a long flowering period, how could you pass this one up for your winter garden!
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French Lavender
Lavender is known as a summer flowering plant but there are now new varieties that bloom in the winter! These include the ‘Lace Series’ and the ‘With Love’ varieties. French Lavender is also one of the few that flower for extended periods, sometimes sneaking its way into winter as well, adding wonderful fragrance and colour to the garden.
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