Winter plants/flowers

[Auroramx]

Are there any flowers/pretty looking plants that look good during all year around? I know nothing about plants or gardening but I have a little mud patch in my back garden that just doesn't look nice atm.

It did have blue bells and daffodils there but we took them all out because they were mixed in with a bunch of weeds.

Also the mud patch part only gets about an hour of sun a day.

Also the mud patch part only gets about an hour of sun a day. That will be your biggest problem

Few things look nice all the year round but there are many things that look good in winter and quite a few that have more than one season of interest.

Are you looking for a small tree, bushes, or lower growing plants?

Some obvious starters which are below 0.5m (or slow growing enough that they stay below 0.5m for many years):
Hellebores - big "architectural" leather green leaves all the year. In early spring they have tiny flowers surrounded by big petal-like bracts in various shades of white, pink, purple, pale green depending on variety which persist into summer. Like shade
Epimedium - delicate oval leaves all year, and sprays of delicate yellow or pink flowers in spring. Likes shade
Skimmia "reevesiana" (the "reevesiana bit is important; others won't have berries unless you have a male and a female plant) - dark green oval leaves all year, clusters of highly scented white flowers in spring, followed by marble sized red berries which aren't liked by birds so persist - sometimes you have both last year's berries and this year's flowers. Tolerates shade
Ferns - some have leaves all the year round - Polystichum (shield ferns and holly ferns) usually do. There is also "Japanese painted fern" which is mainly grey and pink, but that dies down in winter. Ferns are great for shade.

If you've got a support (eg wall) that you could tie something in to, winter jasmine is great - little yellow flowers starting in about Ovtober and carrying on through to April. rest of the year it's just small green leaves - not exciting, but not offensive. I have it on the north wall of the house, so that's zero sun.

If you have room for a bush or small tree, there's a lot of scope for wonderful autumn colours combined with flowers in winter or spring, or instead, beautiful bark colours in winter, and possibly autumn berries

The secret to weeds is to plant densely so they can't compete, or if they do manage, you don't notice them.

Thank you for your response so helpful! I've had a look at the plants you mentioned, I like the winter jasmine the most.

I think I had small bushes in mind that has flowers on them. I know it's summer but I keep seeing these really vibrant orange flowers in peoples gardens. What kind of orange coloured plants could I get that doesn't need much sun?

Daphne Odorata. Flowers from late January where we are. Divine scent. Every green small shrub. There is a slightly later flowering. Daphne too whose name I can't recall but it takes over from the Odorata when that stops flowering

Sarcococca (winter box) is another good plant for shade. The flowers are no big deal but the scent in winter is lovely.

Just seen that you like orange. Look at berberis and pyracantha, which have orange berries in winter. I have an orange alstroemeria which is happy in a semi-shaded bed.

Ooo thank you so much all, those last few plants recommended are beautiful I get some of them

Winter pansies are cheerful. Mine flowered all through the cold weather last year. And coum cyclamens (not the same at the autumn flowering ones) are also lovely and colourful.

I love hellebores . They seem to tolerate most areas and flower through Winter .

There’s a problem with orange plants - colour depends on what pollinates the plants, and orange isn’t the favourite colour of bees and the other insect pollinators we have here. It’s more associated with humming birds etc, so tropical plants. That’s why they’re in the minority.

You could look at Calendula, which flower quite late into the autumn and seem to cope with shade. Easy to grow and will fill gaps while you’re waiting for your other plants to grow large

@KellyABC

Winter pansies are cheerful. Mine flowered all through the cold weather last year. And coum cyclamens (not the same at the autumn flowering ones) are also lovely and colourful.

Just looked at winter pansies, do they need much sunlight?

@MereDintofPandiculation

There’s a problem with orange plants - colour depends on what pollinates the plants, and orange isn’t the favourite colour of bees and the other insect pollinators we have here. It’s more associated with humming birds etc, so tropical plants. That’s why they’re in the minority.

You could look at Calendula, which flower quite late into the autumn and seem to cope with shade. Easy to grow and will fill gaps while you’re waiting for your other plants to grow large

Just had a look at calendula, I think they are the ones I've been seeing quite a lot in peoples gardens actually. I love them! Thanks I'm going to get some

My winter pansies are in a corner that gets morning sun and then shade most of the day and they have been happy - basically I think partial shade would work, or they'd also be good for a window box.

i love a cyclamen!