Getting in early

Despite its name, the Christmas rose, Helleborus niger, for example, generally flowers from January to March with white flowers often tinged with pink or green and dark green leathery leaves.

'Potter's Wheel' and 'White Magic' have larger flowers and are reasonably easy to find, while other varieties will have to be sought from specialist nurseries.

In common with most of the hellebore family, H.niger prefers some shade and will do well in a north-facing position in soil that won't dry out in summer. It resents being divided and may never flower again if the roots are disturbed, so propagation by seed is wise.

For contrasting dark flowers opening at a similar time to H. niger, the lengthy-named Helleborus orientalis Lamarck subspecies abchasicus Early Purple Group will fit the bill. Golden-stamened, deep plum flowers appear as early as December and last until February or March. H.nigercors prefers a sunny site where its loose stemmed sprays of cream flowers will open between January and March.

Snowdrops are the flowers of winter for many people with early bloomers such as 'Akinsii', a vigorous grower, and the double flowered 'Hippolyta' opening from mid-January onwards. Most have green-marked white flowers but there are a few with yellow markings, such as Galanthus.nivalis 'Sandersii', a fussy grower that likes acid soil; and G.plictus 'Wendy's Gold', discovered near Cambridge in 1985.

More vigorous and easier to grow than 'Sandersii', 'Wendy's Gold' has yellow inner petals and ovary.

There is a huge number of snowdrop species, varieties and cultivars with collectors completely hooked on obtaining new plants. Many are listed in the RHS Plant Finder but just as many are unlisted and so rare that they are only exchanged between owners of private collections.

For an informative and well-illustrated read on snowdrops see Gardening Which? Jan/Feb 2002, pp. 20-23.

As well as plants and bulbs, shrubs begin to make their mark over the next few weeks with Forsythia opening a few blooms ahead of the main flowering period during mild spells.

Forsythia giraldiana is among the first of the genus to flower with pale yellow flowers on arching stems.

Chaenomeles speciosa, or flowering quince, will flower in late autumn especially when grown against a sunny wall, with flowers continuing through winter, into spring and possibly with an occasional bloom in summer. 'Simonii' has blood-red semi-double flowers while 'Nivalis' is white and low

growing 'Geisha Girl' has large peach flowers.

Harder to source are 'Cardinalis' with large crimson blooms and deep salmon pink 'Umbilicata'.

These are deciduous shrubs that often flower on bare branches, which are congested with very sharp thorns. Most are very hardy and will grow in sun or semi-shade as ground cover or wall shrubs.

DID YOU KNOW...

...that our common snowdrop Galanthus nivalis might not be a British native? Although widespread throughout Europe, it is thought that most 'wild' populations in Britain are in fact cultivated because they are often found around the sites of ancient monasteries. They would have been planted as symbols of purity and strewn around the altar during the festivities of Candlemas Day, the feast of the purification of the Virgin Mary when she presented Christ in the Temple, on February 2.

Updated: 16:01 Monday, January 21, 2002