27 Expressive Winter Flowers to Plant in Your Landscape for a Wintertime Sanctuary

In a season filled with dreariness, winter flowers can bring a landscape to life. When your garden offers interesting types of winter flowers, there is always a surprise on the horizon. Stretching from the first frost until March, wintertime is a long season with lots of time to fill.

27 Best Vibrant Winter Flowers to Plant in Your Garden for an Exciting Year-Round Landscape

To enjoy blooming flowers throughout winter, you will need to select a variety of winter-blooming flowers. You might recognize some of the flowers on this list as old friends, while others offer adventures you have yet to discover. Each of these types of winter flowers brings a story and a meaning that will give your garden a fresh dimension.

1. Floss Flower (Ageratum Houstonianum ‘Blue Horizon’)

With long-lasting blooms until the first frost, floss flowers represent eternal youth. To soothe the weary soul, each fluffy blossom harnesses cool colors between lavender and blue. Like youth, the floss flower’s color fades after the first frost. Until frost, you can enjoy this winter-blooming flower’s reminder that all are young at heart.

2. Winter Heath (Erica Carnea ‘Springwood Pink’)

As a close cousin to Scottish heather, winter heath symbolizes the pleasure found in solitude. Sometimes, a quiet moment outdoors savoring the winter silence is all it takes to recenter an overflowing mind. Because these flowers survive through snow, the soft pink petals are perfect for calming color in winter.

3. Tassel Bush (Garrya × Issaquahensis)

Featuring dramatic trailing inflorescences that stand out among images of winter flowers, the tassel bush is a great evergreen shrub for any garden. The bush’s Latin name symbolizes being proud of where you come from. Every time you see these inflorescences, remember the people who have helped you become who you are.

4. Ozark Witch Hazel (Hamamelis Vernalis ‘Christmas Cheer’)

If you are looking for winter flowers to plant that will showcase some color around Christmas, this variety of Ozark witch hazel might be the way to go. Because witch hazel is associated with spellcraft, you might just make a little Christmas magic by including this low-maintenance shrub in your landscape.

5. Christmas Rose (Helleborus Niger ‘Altifolius’)

Because the Christmas rose is associated with easing anxiety, it is an excellent choice for gardens everywhere. Who wants tensions during the holiday season? These red-flecked white flowers are also associated with selfless love. Depending on your climate and the severity of your winter, it might not flower at Christmas every year.

6. Snow Crocus (Crocus Chrysanthus ‘Advance’)

Bright yellow petals shatter winter’s monotony to represent joy and cheerfulness. While other varieties of crocus emerge in early spring, this variety makes its appearance in late winter to give you more reasons to smile. Imagine how impressive a group of gold snow crocus will look en masse in winter.

7. Glory of the Snow (Chionodoxa Forbesii)

Because these blue-violet flowers emerge as winter snows melt, the glory of the snow flowers represents triumph over hardship. Every time you see the bright petals peeking above the snow, you can celebrate all the trials you have endured. As an easy winter flower to plant, the glory of the snow will not be among those trials.

8. Paperbush (Edgeworthia Chrysantha ‘Snow Cream’)

Paperbush is one of the types of winter flowers that has value beyond its gorgeous blooms. Used in Japan for making high-quality paper, paperbush shrubs symbolize excellence. Because some of this paper is used in Japanese banknote production, these golden flowers are also associated with wealth.

9. Early Forsythia (Forsythia Ovata)

Early forsythia symbolizes obedience as a reference to how easy this shrub is to grow. Because so much of life is beyond one’s control, a plant that reliably does what it is supposed to do is refreshing. Early forsythia blooms survive sudden freezes and temperatures as low as -25 degrees Fahrenheit.

10. Snowdrop (Galanthus Alpinus)

Pictures of these winter flowers symbolize comfort and hope for better times. As they bloom in late winter, you might see snowdrops appear above some of the last snows of the season to show that warmer times are ahead. If planted in good conditions, snowdrops will appear with their encouraging message year after year.

11. Hepatica (Hepatica Transsilvanica)

As a symbol of confidence, hepatica flowers are a great addition to any landscape. Because of their liver-like shape, these winter-blooming flowers are also associated with spiritual restoration. If you have a shady part of your garden that needs some bright blue color in the winter, consider a vivacious plot of hepatica.

12. Leatherleaf Mahonia (Mahonia Bealei)

Everyone feels a little grouchy sometimes. Leatherleaf mahonia may symbolize cantankerousness, but big yellow flower clusters are the perfect way to cheer up. As winter fades, these flowers turn into green fruits. Because birds love the fruits, these plants are a reminder that giving is a great way to get over a case of grouchiness.

13. Japanese Apricot (Prunus Mume ‘Fenghou’)

Japanese apricot trees have a rich history in East Asia, where they symbolize life, perseverance, and bravery. When paired with bamboo, a Japanese apricot tree represents a happy marriage. This variety is known for superior hardiness and might even bloom earlier if you live in a milder climate.

14. Pansy (Viola × Wittrockiana)

In the language of flowers, pansies mean that someone is in your thoughts. These sweet-scented flowers are often associated with happy memories and bloom in late winter when planted appropriately. Images of these winter flowers show how colorful they can be.

15. Ornamental Cabbage (Brassica Oleracea)

Instead of waiting for flowers to bloom, you can enjoy flower-like foliage all winter long with a plot of ornamental cabbages. Maybe this impatience is why ornamental cabbage plants symbolize prosperity and wealth when used in a landscape. Cool temperatures in late fall and early winter actually cause the foliage colors to become more vibrant.

16. Winterberry (Ilex Verticillata)

Beyond the bright red berries that persist through the winter, winterberry plants are used in traditional Native American medicine. Because winterberries are used often in remedies that draw out toxins, it symbolizes cleansing. To get an abundant crop of those beautiful red berries, you will need to plant more than one of these dioecious plants.

17. Winter Jasmine (Jasminum Nudiflorum)

Valued in China for thousands of years, winter jasmine is known as a “friend to snow,” and is one of the very first flowers to bloom before spring. Bright yellow vining flowers symbolize unchanging love, even when lovers are separated. The separation of lovers theme is echoed by the flowers emerging long before the leaves.

18. Camellia (Camellia Rosaeflora)

Besides providing flashy winter interest, camellias symbolize good luck, steadfast love, and contentment. As one of the many types of winter flowers that bloom through snowfall, camellias are an excellent way to break up winter’s monotony with pink petals and evergreen foliage.

19. Wintersweet (Chimonanthus Praecox)

Images of these winter flowers show how intricate they are, but are not able to express their subtle fragrance or their meaning. Wintersweet has been a traditional element in Chinese cooking as a way to promote good health. Beyond cuisine, the yellow and purple flowers offer a sculptural element to your space.

20. Cyclamen (Cyclamen Persicum)

Unlike most flowers, cyclamen loses its leaves in spring, lies dormant in summer, and explodes into life during the winter. Because of this unique life cycle, cyclamen symbolizes both life and death. To illustrate this, the cyclamen’s name in Greek means “circle.” If you enjoy pondering great mysteries, include cyclamen in your garden design.

21. Daffodil (Narcissus ‘February Gold’)

When daffodils begin blooming in their full glory, you know that winter is coming to a close. Fittingly, these flowers represent joy. The ‘February Gold’ variety blooms as early as February for those who live in hardiness zone 7 or warmer. However, if you live in a cooler climate, they bloom from March to April.

22. Desert Petunia (Ruellia Simplex ‘Purple Showers’)

Originating in deserts across Texas and Mexico, the desert petunia represents ferocity. Because desert petunias can thrive in a wide variety of conditions, it seems a fitting flower to represent both fury and elation at once. The ‘Purple Showers’ variety is sterile, which means that its will to survive will not turn invasive.

23. Christmas Cactus (Schlumbergera × Buckleyi)

Christmas is a time of magic and togetherness, and this is reflected in the Christmas Cactus’s unique story and symbolism. By crossing two Brazilian cacti, a cactus that begins blooming around Christmastime came into the world. Bring a Christmas cactus into your life, and you might just create your own Christmas miracle.

24. Snapdragon (Antirrhinum Majus)

Like the legendary dragons that these unique flowers resemble, snapdragons symbolize ostentatious pride. It might be impossible to live in a fairy tale, but snapdragons make that storybook magic seem tangible. With their flashy shape, maybe that pride is well deserved. Because snapdragons are vanquished by frost, they illustrate pride’s ephemeral nature.

25. Italian Aster (Aster Amellus ‘Veilchenkönigin’ Violet Queen)

Italian aster might not improve your memory, but these purple-petalled flowers do symbolize remembering. As you can see from the pictures of these winter flowers, their intense colors are not soon forgotten. Although the flowers only last until frost, your memories will live on through winter’s depths.

26. Love-Lies-Bleeding (Amaranthus Caudatus)

Long, trailing crimson flowers are a beautiful representation of sacrifice, sympathy, and loyalty. While many types of winter flowers channel blissful feelings, it is important to acknowledge the sadness in our lives as well. After a frost, these tassel-like flowers will dwindle in a reminder that pain does not last forever.

27. Winter Aconite (Eranthis Hyemalis)

In Greek, this flower’s name translates to “early flowering” because it blooms before other flowers. Winter aconite’s yellow flowers often emerge through a layer of snow. Perhaps this ability to survive in harsh conditions is the reason that winter aconite is also associated with mistrust.

27 Meaningful Winter Flowers to Plant for a Garden to Help Tell Your Story

Keeping your landscape interesting throughout the winter is the gardener’s greatest challenge. Although there are fewer flower options than other seasons, winter-blooming flowers are no less beautiful. As you can see in some of these pictures of winter flowers, the weary surroundings give the plants an intensified aura of vitality.

Beyond the visual, each flower has a meaning and a story to incorporate into your landscape. For the perfect garden, pick winter flowers to plant that resonate with your journey. While the gardener grows the plants, you never know when these same plants will help the gardener grow as well.