Top ten plants for February gardens 2023

These easy to grow, long flowering, evergreen plants come into their own this month. The Ashwood hybrids are recognised as being some of the best bred in the world. Many hellebore flowers lose their colour as they age but these single flower Ashwood hybrids retain their colour on the back as well as on the inner side. This is a great advantage given that many hellebore flowers ‘nod over’. As stocks are raised from seed the shade of claret can change from plant to plant.

• Flowers in winter
• Hardy
• Grows to 30cm tall
• Moist but well-drained soil
• Full sun or partial shade
• Exposed

Another February plant is scorpion senna. These shrubs deserve to be more widely planted as they delight with their scented, pretty, pale yellow flowers. The blooms appear during the early part of the year, when flowers are in relatively short supply in the garden. This species is compact and grows particularly well in front of a warm, sunny wall.

• Flowers in spring
• Hardy
• Grows to 2.5m tall
• Well-drained soil
• Full sun
• Sheltered

Next is another easy to care for, upright, deciduous shrub. It has clusters of fragrant, pink flowers appearing before the leaves between November and March. It’s best to plant it close to a pathway to fully appreciate the scent but be aware that it will ultimately grow to a height of around 3 metres.

• Flowers in winter
• Fully hardy
• Grows to 3m tall
• Moist, but well-drained or well-drained soil
• Full sun or partial shade
• Exposed or sheltered

Another compact, evergreen shrub well worth including in your border is ‘Kew Green’. Easy to grow and keeps its domed shape well, the plant produces creamy-white, scented flowers well into May. Also, it’s the ideal choice for lighting up a shady border. Being male, it’s also useful to include for pollination purposes if you have a red berried female skimmia in the border too.

• Flowers in spring
• Hardy
• Grows to 1m tall
• Moist, but well-drained soil
• Full shade or partial shade
• Sheltered or exposed

Heathers seem to be having something of a revival. If you have neutral to acid soil, this vigorous, low growing, evergreen cultivar will soon fill an empty space in the border. It’ll delight you with scented rose-pink flowers from mid-winter right the way through to mid-spring. Not only will the flowers bring you joy, but they’re great for pollinators too. Trim lightly after flowering finishes.

• Flowers in winter
• Fully hardy
• Grows to 15cm tall
• Moist, but well-drained soil or well-drained acidic soil
• Full sun
• Exposed or sheltered

This deciduous large shrub/small tree will flower from a young age, producing lots of small golden-yellow flowers. Come autumn, the blooms turn into shiny red berries. This shrub has much to offer, and is a great addition to many garden styles, from cottage to contemporary, and low maintenance gardens too.

• Flowers in winter
• Fully hardy
• Grows to 3m tall
• Moist, but well-drained soil
• Full sun or partial shade
• Exposed or sheltered

If you’re looking for a winter-wonderland Narnia effect in the garden, this suckering shrub might be the ideal choice. It grows into a mass of arching stems which, during the winter months, become covered in a ghostly white bloom. This looks striking in a partly shaded area.  Once established, prune the stems back hard, almost to ground level, in March. Not only does this keep the plant in check, but ensures the striking white bloom re-appears every year, because it’s more pronounced on fresh, young shoots.

• Flowers in summer
• Fully hardy
• Grows to 4m tall
• Moist but well-drained soil
• Full sun or partial shade
• Exposed or sheltered

The joy of many winter flowering shrubs is that their flowers are often scented, and this deciduous shrub is no exception. In fact, the scent is exquisite. Just one stem picked and brought into the house on a cold day will soon fill a warm room with its wonderful fragrance. For this and other reasons, it’s much prized by flower arrangers. The petals are a deep yellow colour on the outside stained with a pretty deep maroon on the inside. You’ll need to be patient though as they usually take a few years before they start to flower, but it’s well worth the wait.

• Flowers in winter
• Hardy
• Grows to 4m tall
• Moist but well-drained or well-drained soil
• Full sun
• Sheltered

Last but not least in plants for February is this cheery bloom. If you’re looking for a classic daffodil, ‘February Gold’ fits the bill nicely. It has yellow petals and a the recognisable yellow trumpet. They look lovely planted in containers and can also be planted in a garden border.

• Flowers February to March
• Hardy
• Grows to 25cm tall and 15cm wide
• Well-drained soil
• Full sun or partial sun
• Sheltered or exposed