Clematis cirrhosa var. purpurascens 'Freckles'
clematis (group 1)
- Position: full sun or partial shade
- Soil: fertile, well-drained, neutral soil
- Rate of growth: average to fast-growing
- Flowering period: December to February
- Flower colour: cream
- Other features: evergreen
- Hardiness: frost hardy (needs winter protection)
Scented, bell-like, cream winter flowers heavily speckled inside with reddish-brown 'freckles' and glossy, dark-green leaves. This evergreen clematis is ideal for training over a sunny pergola or arch. This is the best way to appreciate the distinctive freckle-like markings, which are less visible when the plant is grown against a wall. - Garden care: No routine pruning is necessary. If the spread of the plant needs to be restricted prune immediately after flowering, cutting back overlong shoots to healthy buds. Apply a slow-release balanced fertiliser and a mulch of well-rotted garden compost around the base of the plant in early spring.
Bergenia 'Bressingham White'
elephant's ears
Pure white flowers and handsome deep green leaves
Helleborus × hybridus Harvington double purple
Lenten rose hellebore
Stunning double flowers
Cyclamen hederifolium
sowbread (syn. Cyclamen neapolitanum )
Easy to grow & autumn flowering
Sarcococca hookeriana var. digyna 'Purple Stem'
sweet box
deliciously scented winter flowers
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The earliest of the winter-flowering clematis - each white bell is heavily spotted in seasonal cherry red - often out by Christmas and sometimes by November
Val Bourne - Garden Writer