Fresh winter flowers may seem like something that can only be purchased from your local florist, but that’s not entirely true. By planting some of these 15 flowers that bloom in winter you will be able to walk out into your own yard and harvest fresh flowers to display in your home in the middle of winter. Just think, fresh flowers to use as a table centerpiece for a Holiday dinner or to give as a unique Christmas gift. Enjoy fresh floral blooms when you plant these winter flowering plants.
Winter Jasmine (Jasminum nudiflorum)
This plant produces an abundance of creamy yellow flowers during the winter season. Winter jasmine is an evergreen shrub that is hardy in growing zone 6-9 and will reach a mature height of 10 feet.
Winter Honeysuckle (Lonicera fragrantissima)
Winter honeysuckle produces fragrant clusters of white flowers in late winter (See also fragrant flowers). Hardy in growing zones 5-8, this winter plant for the garden will reach a mature size of 10 feet wide and equally as tall.
Leatherleaf Mahonia (Mahonia bealei)
It is an evergreen shrub that produces clusters of tiny yellow flowers in the winter. Hardy in growing zones 6-9, leatherleaf mahonia reaches a mature size of 4 feet tall and wide.
Pinks (Dianthus)
Pinks are thusly named not for their pink color, but for their serrated bloom edges that look as though they were cut with pinking shears. Fragrant, mounding plant that grows in winter when planted in full sun. Hardy in growing zones 5-8, pinks reach a mature size of 12 inches tall and wide.
Sweet Williams (D. barbatus)
Sweet williams are closely related to pinks, but grow to twice the size and has a mild, sweet, clove-like scent when brushed. Sweet Williams reach a mature size of two feet in height and width. Hardy in growing zones 5-8.
Pansies (Viola x wittrockiana)
Pansied are known as the flowers with faces and produce colorful winter blooms. Hardy in most growing zones and will reach a mature size of 8 inches tall. Keep spent blooms removed and plants will produce flowers all winter. However, pansies will not tolerate heat and will die as soon as the spring temperatures rise above 80 degrees.
Violets (Violas)
These flowers grow much like their pansy cousins. Pale to dark purple blooms grow on dimunitive plants that tolerate heat slightly better than pansies. When planted in partial shade in well draining soil, violets will re-seed themselves and return year after year. Hardy in most growing zones.
Sweet Pea (Lathyrus odoratus)
It is a fragrant flowering vine that can grow 6 feet in length. The vine produces clusters of ruffled, sweet-smelling blooms in early winter. A great winter blooming flower to plant on trellis or arbor to brighten an otherwise barren landscape. Hardy in growing zones 5-8. Plant seeds in full sun in the late summer.
Daphne (Daphne bholua)
Daphne is a Japanese native evergreen shrub that produces delicate-looking and fragrant pink blooms in mid-winter. Hardy in growing zones 7-9. Daphne will reach a mature size of 4 feet tall and wide.
Honeywort (Cerinthe major purpurascens)
It is an unusual flower that grows in the winter. A Mediterranean native, honeywort is a plant that has blue-green leaves and produces blue-purple flowers in mid-winter. the plants reaches a mature height of 3 feet and will die when the temperatures warm in the spring. Honeywort re-seeds itself and will return year after year.
Sweet Alyssum (Lobularia maritima)
Sweet alyssum is a winter favorite in areas that receive little to no snow because the plant looks like a mound of fresh snow when it’s in full bloom. Hardy in most growing zones, sweet alyssum grows in 12 inch mounds that are drought tolerant. The winter-blooming plant will go dormant when the weather gets hot.
Calendula (Calendula officinalis)
It is an edible flower plant that blooms in winter. The calendula produces bright yellowish-orange blooms that have peppery tasting petals. Petals are usually chopped and mixed in cream cheese or other dipping-style foods. Hardy in growing zones 5-9 when planted in full sun.
Hellebore (Helleborus niger)
Also known as the Christmas rose, this winter blooming plant loves to grow in shady areas. Hellebores are hardy in growing zones 4-8 and produce white, pink, burgundy or green blooms around Christmas.
Witchhazel (Hamamelis x intermedia)
It is a small shrub that produces orange blooms in January. Known for it’s medicinal uses as well as its winter flowers, witchhazel is hardy in growing zones 5-8.
Flowering Quince (Chaenomeles speciosa)
It is a deciduous thorny shrub that puts on a spectacular, colorful floral show during the winter. Hardy in most growing zones and thrives on neglect. Plant flowering quince in the fall and give it at least 8 feet to spread out.