Winter Flowering Trees, Bushes, Shrubs

plant	height	features
Cornelian cherry (cornus mas)	3m/9ft	This shrub has a rather open, spreading habit and produces a mass of tiny yellow flowers in late winter.
Mezereon (Daphne mezereum)	90cm/3ft	This popular shrub has fragrant purple blooms in late winter, followed by scarlet berries.
Oleaster (Elaeagnus macrophylla)	3m/9ft	A pretty silvery evergreen, it produces fragrant flowers of a similar silvery colour in autumn.
False caster-oil plant (Fatsia japonica)	2.4m/8ft	An evergreen with thick stems and few branches, it has rather exotic white flowers in early winter. This plant doesn't like being pruned: just cut out any dead wood in spring.
Mahonia (M.japonica)	2.4m/8ft	This shrub produces long lily-of-the-valley-scented clusters of yellow flowers in mid-winter. For the rest of the year, it provides evergreen background, but it can be invasive if not kept in check.
Viburnum (V.farreri, syn. Fragrans)	2m/6ft	Pale pink buds open to deliciously scented white flowers that are frost-resistant. Young growth is bronze-coloured.
Autumn cherry (prunus subhirtella)	6m/18ft	This is, in fact, a tree, but is compact enough to be grown in a container. 'Autumnalis' has semi-double white blooms and can flower between late autumn and early spring; 'autumnalis rosea' has pale pink blooms. It is best grown in mild areas and prefers shelter.