- Sweet Alyssum
Producing mounds of tiny, fragrant flowers in pink, white, or lavender, sweet alyssum (Lobularia maritima) is a favorite cool-season flower for garden beds and containers. It's usually grown as an annual, but is a short-lived perennial in Zones 9 and warmer. It can withstand temperatures down to about 28° F if well established.
Growing Conditions: Full sun to part shade and well-drained soil
Size: up to 10 inches tall
Zones: 9-11
In places with mild climates that don't experience freezing temperatures, such as parts of California, sweet alyssum can spread out of control so check where it is considered invasive before planting.
- Calendula
The cheery yellow, cream, or orange blossoms of calendula (Calendula officinalis) light up a garden. Also known as pot marigold (though not related to marigolds), calendula flowers are edible. The peppery petals may be used as a garnish for salads or stirred into cream cheese or dips. For the best winter show, look for newer varieties that have better cold tolerance and a longer bloom time such as 'Winter Wonders Amber Arctic'.
Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil
Size: up to 3 feet tall
Zones: 9-11
- Honeywort
This may be the most unusual-looking winter-blooming flower. Native to the Mediterranean, honeywort (Cerinthe major purpurascens) has silvery blue-green leaves and blue-purple tubular flowers and bracts. Honeywort is considered a hardy annual or short-lived perennial, depending on where it grown. It blooms in winter in Zones 9 and warmer. In Zones 7-8 it can be planted in fall for an early spring bloom. The plant can tolerate light frosts but a hard freeze will kill it.
Growing Conditions: Full sun to light shade and well-drained soil
Size: 2-4 feet tall
Zones: 7-10
- Sweet Peas
Annual sweet pea (Lathyrus odoratus) prefers cool temperatures to bloom, but won't survive hard freezes. Keep the flowers blooming in winter by mulching the plants well and covering them during frosts. Some varieties are earlier flowering, such as the Winter Sunshine and Winter Elegance series, both of which can bloom through winter in the warmest regions of Texas, California, and Florida.
Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil
Size: up to 8 feet tall
Zones: 7-10
- Pansies
Pansies (Viola x wittrockiana) are the reliable standbys for cool-weather blossoms. Their engaging "faces," or top petals, come in bold or pastel colors. Remove spent flowers to promote repeat blooming. Although they're technically perennials, pansies tend to be short-lived because they don't tolerate heat well (some varieties are more heat-tolerant than others). Pansies will bloom all winter in warmer climates.
Growing Conditions: Full sun to light shade and consistently moist, well-drained soil
Size: up to 1 foot tall
Zones: 5-9
- Pinks
Pinks (Dianthus species and hybrids) are named not for their color—although many are pink—but for their serrated leaves, which look like someone cut them with pinking shears. The blooms often smell like an aromatic spice, such as nutmeg or cloves. Many types of these short-lived perennials, including China pinks (Dianthus chinensis), grow in 6- to 12-inch mounds of grasslike blue-green foliage. Sweet William (D. barbatus) reaches up to 2 feet. Cheddar pinks (Dianthus gratianopolitanus) and maiden pinks (Dianthus deltoides) are also part of the family.
Growing Conditions: Full sun to part shade and well-drained soil
Size: up to 2 feet tall
Zones: 3-10, but varies by species
- Winter Jasmine
You'll love the early burst of color from winter jasmine (Jasminum nudiflorum), a fast-growing evergreen shrubby plant that's native to Tibet and China. This cold-weather perennial offers an abundance of creamy-yellow flowers that bloom on bare stems in January or February. While it is the hardiest member of the jasmine family, it is not fragrant.
Growing Conditions: Full sun to part shade and well-drained soil
Size: 4-10 feet tall
Zones: 6-9
- Hellebore
Blooming in late winter, hellebores (Helleborus spp.) are tough perennial plants that are also sometimes called winter roses. The flowers come in white, yellow, pink, maroon, chartreuse, and bicolored. While the flowers typically hang downward, newer varieties boast flowers that face upwards so are easier to see.
Growing Conditions: Part to full shade and average soil
Size: 1-2 feet tall
Zones: 4-9
