Miracle Flame Mini Cyclamen

Miracle Flame Mini Cyclamen burn brightly in the shady winter garden. Their brightly colored blossoms are all edged in white and sweetly fragrant. True miniatures, they stay under 8 inches tall and wide. Use them alone in small pots or mixed with other color in larger containers. You can even use them as centerpieces indoors for as long as a week.

Citrus: Fukushu Kumquat

(Fortunella obovata)

Fukushu kumquat is already decorated for the holidays with fragrant white flowers and delicious round fruit. Fukushu has larger leaves and much larger fruit than other kumquats. It has a spreading habit and is equally attractive in a container or in the ground.

Daphne odora, Winter Daphne

The fragrance of Winter Daphne is simply sublime. The plant itself is somewhat nondescript, with glossy leaves and a spreading habit. Then dark pink buds start to form at the tips and anticipation begins. When winter is at its grimmest, Daphne becomes a star achiever with her intoxicating fragrance and sweet blossoms. The secret to growing Daphne is to hold back on summer water and provide good drainage.

Helleborus niger, Christmas Rose and Helleborus orientalis, Lenten Rose

Hardy evergreen perennials for the shade garden, both offer showy flowers of white to pink to purple and glossy green foliage. Despite their names, both bloom at pretty much the same time as harbingers of spring. Old-fashioned beauty, sturdiness and reliability are the hallmark of these winter gems which grow 1 to 2 feet tall and wide. For all their loveliness, they are quite deer resistant!

Loropetalum chinensis Zhuzhou Fuchsia

Enjoy color all year with this handsome plant. It features beautiful maroon foliage, deep pink flower clusters and peeling white bark as it matures. This is the tallest, most cold tolerant and best pink flowering of the Loropetalums. It can even be grown into a small tree of 10 feet tall. Plant in full morning sun with some afternoon shade for best appearance.

Nandina Sienna Sunrise

As the weather gets cooler, Sienna Sunrise goes up in flames of color. It cools to green in the summer , but its new growth emerges fiery red. Use it in traditional Japanese garden for a bamboo-like accent, as a border, or in containers. A compact grower to 3 to 4 feet tall, Sienna Sunrise fits into most gardens. Plant in full sun to part shade.