What plants can you buy in Winter?

[IStillMissBlockbuster]

Hi,

i'm still new to gardening and have broke the bank this year trying to fill loads of bed space that I created in my new to me (10 years old) property (related question - the soil is FULL of rubble and stones, what do you do with that?).

I am thinking ahead a little bit in terms of spreading cost and trying to plant flowers for all seasons. I can't remember going to a garden centre in autumn/winter. What can you get then? Bulbs? Hellebore?

Most garden centres don’t stock much except for Christmas Trees, in winter.
I’d look in late summer/ winter for things with berries, heathers, winter pansies and violas.

Loads, cyclamen type things, yes to Hellebores, anything that isn't tender really.

I buy most of my plants at a local market, the guy there grows most of his own stuff .... and is there every week all year round.

A local growing garden centre is your best bet for all year round plants IME as those bought in from Europe and grown inside struggle.

Re rubble, I used a sieve and set myself a task of filling at least two of those strong blue rubble bags a week when I had to clear a garden at an old house with a demolished brick and flint outhouse in the garden.

Thank you!
I've got a sieve, it's bloody hard work!

It is hard work 😂, hence I set myself a very small weekly goal. Totally worth it in the end though, I was sadly proud of my clean soil!

Most garden centres don’t stock much except for Christmas Trees, in winter. Not in my experience. A half way decent garden centre, one that thinks of itself more of as a nursery than as a cafe selling knick knacks and novelty plants, should have their full range of perennials, trees and shrubs all the year round. The only problem is, you need to know what you want to buy, rather than seeing a pretty flower and saying "ooh, that looks nice, I'll have that".

I've seen it said that english gardens are often at their best in May/June because the good weather brings people to garden centres and they buy what is in flower. So late summer and autumn there isn't much flowering on the garden because people aren't buying plants in that season. Bit simplistic I know. But visiting a good garden centre regularly through the year is great for seeing what looks good in other seasons (winter can have colour through flowers, berries, bark), and often plants that flower in the winter have long flowering seasons.

I'm not sure what they sell in winter, but last autumn I remember buying and planting different anemones - some pink and purple, others white (Japanese)

The Japanese bloomed throughout October, and possibly into November. Maybe even longer, but it was an exceptionally mild winter?
Some of the others bloomed all winter, I assume they were winter anemones?

Depending on space, I'd plant snowdrops for January, spring bulbs, a Camellia for February/March, a Magnolia for march/April, bluebells for May. I presume they're all sold at those times of the year? (Apart from the bulbs)

Evergreens: Escallonia (flowers in summer)

Thank you. I never thought you could buy blue bells, don't know why I just thought they were exclusively wild flowers. That would be lovely. I planted some Anemone bulbs not so long ago so hopefully they'll give us some colour in the colder months.

Definitely buy bulbs in late summer for next spring. There are winter flowering shrubs like daphne, Christmas box, mahonia and other shrubs/trees that are good for berries and autumn colour eg. Amelanchier, euonymus.

Buy wallflower plants in late autumn at the same time as tulip bulbs.

I never thought you could buy blue bells Check that they're native uk bluebells, not spanish hybrids, which tend to be paler blue, are less delicate looking, and lack the scent.

There's a winter flowering cherry, winter flowering viburnums with good scent, a yellow flowered winter flowering jasmine. I find the earliest flowering "bulb" is cyclamen coum - it's self seeded with us so my original 4 have become hundreds, flowers from late Dec/early Jan.

I bought some cyclamens last year which flowered for months! That's the small pink and white types, not the showier cultivars though I've had the smaller bright red/fancier pinks flower for ages in pots in mild winters.

Have we mentioned snowdrops? Whereas many bulbs want planting ahead of time to develop (daffs ~September, tulips ~October) snowdrops are best planted 'green' ie when they're in leaf/flower so look out for pots of those. I'm not sure but I've heard the same said of bluebells.

I really want to plant snowdrops dotted throughout my lawn, I drive past a house this year that had and it looked gorgeous. That would have to be bulbs though, I also heard that they're best planted green but do you think it could work?

Yes - plant in clusters not too scattered and don't mow till after the leaves have died back, as with all naturalised bulbs. Easier with snowdrops as they're earliest.

Thanks, why clustered? Just out of interest.

Well, that's just aesthetics, imo it looks better that way!

Oh ok, fine.

Winter is a great time for planning and if it's not cold for planting trees and shrubs.
Look in garden centres and shops like Wilko and B&Q late august early september. They usually clear out stock to make room for christmas tat, so you can get some bargains.