6 tree and flower ideas for winter: brighten up your garden during the darkest months of the year

Snowball hydrangeas, Christmas roses and witch hazel are special kinds of plants: whilst the rest of your garden hibernates during the winter, this is when they shine. In November, December and January, they will provide a lively dash of colour to your garden.

The snowball hydrangea starts to bloom in November and, depending on the weather, may continue blooming until March. Pink dawn, in particular, is very special: this plant bears leaves in the summer, while its pink flowers open up during the winter time.

From December, the leaves of the white Christmas rose also open up. It is closely related to the lenten rose, which is in bloom from January.

Or would you prefer a winter-blooming tree? Then consider witch hazel. Its yellow, orange and red flowers will add colour to your garden from January.

When the autumn wind sweeps away the last of the leaves from your trees, it’s time to liven up your garden again – with evergreens.

Box, yew and privet – all popular hedge plants– hang on to their leaves in the autumn and winter. And they really look the part in winter landscapes if trimmed into geometric shapes. Many rhododendron varieties also keep their leaves, while evergreen ground-cover perennials such as yucca or barren strawberry will also bring some colour to your flowerbeds. A key benefit of ground-covers is that they protect the earth against frost and drying up.

Trees or bushes with colourful foliage really catch the eye during the autumn or winter seasons. For example, the leaves of the European beech (or common beech), which is also a popular choice for hedges, glisten orange in the autumn and remain on the branches until spring. Some varieties of cotoneaster can also add a dash of colour to your hedge.

Hardy perennials with bright leaves such as spurges, bergenia and alumroot can also give your flowerbeds some welcome colour. Alumroot shades can range from a yellowy green to rusty red or deep purple.

In autumn and winter, the bark of plants and trees takes on a new role – because it can also bring some colour to gardens. Dogwood, for example, has striking orange to red coloured twigs. Even fruit trees like silvery brownish-red cherry trees will look prominent in a wintry garden. Andbirch trees, with their delicate white bark, really stand out against evergreen hedges.

Planting berry bushes will not only introduce a little colour to your garden; it will also ensure you get regular visits from hungry birds. Take holly, for example, an evergreen plant that always catches the eye in winter with its beautiful bright red berries.

Barberry bushes produce berries with a sharp acidic flavour. And that’s all the better for you: birds will only eat the fruits once all their other food options have been exhausted – which means the berries will remain in your garden for even longer. By contrast, the orange berries of the sea buckthorn are a lot more popular with birds. But because the shrub can grow up to four metres high, there should be enough berries to keep your garden looking colourful throughout winter.

Snowdrops and winter aconite bloom in the winter, but announce the arrival of spring as early as late February – provided there isn’t too much snow. And when the first crocuses begin to bloom between February and March, you can be certain spring is just around the corner. These early blooming flowers are exceptionally hardy and, once planted using bulbs, can remain in the soil for many years. It’s best to plant the bulbs some time between August and October; but it’s also doable later in the year, before the ground freezes over.