Winter perennials

Perennials play an exuberant starring role in vibrant summer displays – but you may be surprised to know there are many which perform well into winter.

In our garden centre we've got plenty of perennials to bring colour to the garden through even the coldest months: here are five of our favourites.

Bergenia are also known as elephants' ears: big, broad, leathery leaves turn shades of red and purple in autumn and stay evergreen all winter. Fat flower spires top the display in spring.

Heuchera foliage comes in every colour from lime green to deep purple: they have pretty flower spires in summer but in winter make bright splash of welcome colour.

Hellebores are among our best-loved winter flowers: Christmas rose (Helleborus niger) flowers in December while H. orientalis starts in early spring. The handsome leaves are evergreen, too.

Cuckoo pint (Arum italicum) reverses the seasons, dying down in summer but returning in autumn with handsome marbled leaves and spikes of red berries.

Phlomis russeliana is one of many perennials which holds architectural seedheads into winter, contrasting well with the equally sculptural winter remains of grass flowerheads.

Please ask the staff in our garden centre for more information and advice about perennials that look good in winter.

David Dadswell