January Blooms

The Garden in January features colorful berries and the stark beauty of leafless trees and winter light.   Don’t miss the warm and cozy Conservatory filled with cacti, tropicals and a flourish of orchids.  Plus, look for twinkling lights in the Garden as Dominion Energy GardenFest of Lights continues through early January.

Use our January Garden Explorer tour from your desktop or smartphone to plan your visit around these blooms! Check back for a link to this month’s Bright Spots (PDF) highlighting current blooms and interest.

Witch Hazel 'Jelena'

‘Jelena’ witch hazel Hamamelis × intermedia ‘Jelena.’ You’ll find it in the Front Vale.

Oregon Grape

Oregon grape, Mahonia x media ‘Underway’, tall evergreen, spiked leaves, sprays of yellow flower buds at top of stem, just beginning to open. You’ll find different varieties of mahonia all over the garden, but this cultivar is in the Four Seasons portion of the Central Garden.

Japanese Apricot 'Bonita'

Prunus mume ‘Bonita’ is a medium-sized tree with buds just beginning to open to delicate fuchsia blossoms. Don’t miss it’s lovely fragrant blooms. You’ll find it at the front entrance to the Garden.

Daffodil 'Rijnveld's Early Sensation'

Narcissus ‘Rijnveld’s Early Sensation’ is one of our first flowers to bloom each year! Look for it in the Children’s Garden. 

Stinking Hellebore

Helleborus foetidus has clusters of pendant, muted, chartreuse blooms with red highlights. If you’ve wondered how it got its name, the leaves smell unpleasant when crushed. No need to try it, right? You’ll find this variety of hellebore all over the garden,  in the Asian Valley and  Grace Arents Garden in particular.

Hybrid Magnolia

It’s not yet a bloom, but the fun furry buds of Magnolia x ‘Luscious‘ will certainly grab your attention. You’ll find it if you look near the front entrance to the Garden.

Snow Drops

We have several cultivars of Galanthus nivalis, but they all have one thing in common: beautiful white blooms edged in bright green, blooming when you need them most. You’ll find several patches of them in Flagler Garden.

Bird of Paradise

Bird of Paradise, or Strelitzia reginae has vivid orange and bright purple crane-shaped flowers and large spikey, dark green leaves. Look for it as you enter the Dome House of the Conservatory.

Horsetail

Rough horsetail or Equisetum hyemale, upright, dark green, finely grooved, reed-like plant with rough, sandpapery texture. Long ago it was used to polish metal or scour pots for this reason. Some consider horsetail a living fossil because it has been around for millions of years. You’ll find it on Woodland Walk portion of Flagler Garden.

Lily of China

Lily of China or Rohdea japonica has dark green, elongated leaves,  and beautiful large bright red berries at base of plant. You’ll find it in the Asian Valley and Flagler Garden.

Paperbark Maple

Notice the wonderful papery bark of the Acer griseum tree. You’ll find it in several spots in the Garden including the Asian Valley and Flagler Garden. 

Winter Jasmine

Winter Jasmine or Jasminum nudiflorum is a wonderful addition to any landscape.  It features mounded shrubs with arching branches and yellow fragrant flowers along stems. Be careful not to confuse this one with another early yellow-bloomed plant, forsythia. You will find it in many spots, including Flagler Garden and the Children’s Garden.

Coral Bells 'Citronelle'

Coral Bells or Heuchera ‘Citronelle’ offer great winter interest with their colorful chartreuse foliage along the Cherry Tree Walk in the Children’s Garden

Ostrich Fern

True, it’s not a bloom, but the striking chocolate brown fronds of the ostrich fern or Matteuccia struthiopteris in winter are fascinating and add interesting texture to the landscape of Flagler Garden. The fronds of the ostrich fern are the fertile ones with spores.

Golden Rule® Hypericum

We love the beautiful rainbow foliage of St. John’s wort, Hypericum calycinum ‘NCHCI’ Golden Rule®, on the Cherry Tree Walk at the north end of Lake Sydnor.

Japanese Winterberry 'Sparkleberry'

Japanese winterberry, Ilex serrata ‘Sparkleberry,’ adds both sparkle and color to the winter landscape. You’ll find it below the Cochrane Rose Garden in the rain garden along the Lake Sydnor.