Late winter sparkle

Three minutes and 15 seconds – this, according to the strangely addictive website timeanddate.com, is the extra daylight that Irish gardeners (to be more specific, Dublin gardeners) can enjoy today in comparison to yesterday. Between today and tomorrow? Another three minutes and 18 seconds. And on it whirls. So in the meantime, here’s a list of flowering plants that are guaranteed to bring some much-needed sparkle into the late-winter garden.

Grow them and you'll give yourself (and the bees) several more good reasons to spend a few of those precious extra minutes outdoors.
Witch hazels
One of the brightest stars of the late- winter garden, this deciduous, woody shrub can start producing its crumpled, frost-proof flowers on bare stems from as early as December. The best are also intensely scented. It is a spreading shrub, but if space is limited keep it compact with an annual spring prune. The classic variety is the lemon-flowered and strongly perfumed Hamamelis x intermedia 'Pallida', but also look out for H 'Aphrodite' (orange) and H 'Arnold Promise' (bright yellow). Witch hazels prefer shelter in full sun/light shade and a moist but well-drained, acid/neutral soil, but they will happily tolerate alkaline soils if deep and fertile.
Hellebores
Among the earliest flowering is Helleborus niger, but it is tricky to grow. By comparison, the hybrid hellebores (Helleborus x hybridus) are generally easier, more floriferous and longer- lived. Hardy and very variable, their saucer-shaped flowers come in a multitude of shades and shapes and, in a mild winter like this, start appearing in January. Also look out for lovely early- flowering H x ericsmithii. Although considered shade-lovers, hellebores will also grow in full sun as long as the soil is fertile, moist but free-draining.
Wintersweet
Another shrubby star of the late winter garden, on a cold, still January day its heavily scented, waxy yellow flowers can be smelled at some distance and despite their air of fragility, they will withstand frost. Wintersweet (or Chimonanthus, its Latin name) likes a fertile, well-drained alkaline soil in full sun, and is best trained against a warm wall. The classic variety is Chimonanthus praecox 'Luteus' (4m).
Daphnes
Yet more intensely scented stars of the late winter garden. The evergreen, pink-purple flowered Daphne bholua 'Jacqueline Postill' (3-4m) is probably the best known (sun/light shade and a fertile, well-drained, slightly alkaline soil), but there are others worth growing, including the long-flowering Daphne x transatlantica 'Eternal Fragrance', more suitable for container growing.
Viburnums
Some plants of this shrubby genus are the mainstay of the winter garden. One is the deciduous Viburnum x bodnantense, which produces clusters of perfumed, small pink flowers on its bare stems from as early as October (in a mild autumn) until March. It likes a sheltered spot in full sun/light shade and a fertile, moist soil. Another is the versatile, low-maintenance Viburnum tinus, an evergreen vigorous shrub which produces its flattish flowerheads until late spring. It will grow in ordinary garden soils in sun or shade. Look out for V tinus 'Lisarose' (3 x 3m), whose flowers in bud are an attractive deep pink.
Autumn cherry
This hardy, deciduous tree, whose Latin name is Prunus x subhirtella, starts flowering in autumn and continues on and off throughout the winter. The most common is the pale pink/white-flowering P subhirtella 'Autumnalis' but there is also a lovely deep pink-flowering form known as P subhirtella, 'Autumnalis Rosea'. Both like full sun and a fertile, moist but well-drained soil (8 x 8m).
Winter honeysuckle
These shrubby honeysuckles produce lemon-scented, pale flowers on bare stems in late winter/early spring. Lonicera fragrantissima and L x purpusii are more commonly grown but better again is L elisae (formerly L infundibulum var. rockii) (2-3m). All like an ordinary garden soil in sun/light shade.
Silk tassel bush
The dangling catkin-like flowers of the evergreen silk tassel bush (Garrya elliptica) are a decorative addition, especially when grown against a wall. For something different, grow Garrya issaquahensis 'Glasnevin Wine'. These frost- hardy, pollution-tolerant shrubs like shelter and ordinary, well-drained soil in full sun/light shade (3 x 3m).
Mahonias
A lot of them suffered badly in those two harsh winters, but it's time to take another chance with these architectural, evergreen, fragrant, yellow-flowering shrubs. In particular, look out for M 'Charity' and M 'Winter Sun' (4 x 4m).
At ground-level
Along with snowdrops (see last week), consider the tiny, yellow-flowering winter aconite (Eranthis hyemalis), Cyclamen coum, early daffodils (Narcissus 'Rijnveld's Early Sensation') and the dwarf reticulate irises.