Use viburnums to brighten up your winter garden

Low temperatures are triggering wonders in the garden, according to Irish Examiner gardening columnist Peter Dowdall

Viburnum x bodnantense 'Dawn' thrives in low temperatures, its sweetly scented blooms brightening up the winter garden along with providing valuable food to any bees and other pollinating insects. Picture: iStock

A few weeks ago I posted on my Instagram page, a picture of a spring-flowering magnolia in my mother-in-law’s garden which was in full bloom and I received dozens of replies from people who had similar such blooms in their own gardens. Azaleas, camellias and magnoolias were sending forth errant blooms in autumn. 

That’s not uncommon during a fine autumn but the recent, quite dramatic drop in temperatures will have removed any horticultural confusion and these plants will be now in no doubt that we are, in fact in winter proper. They will keep their petals now, wrapped up inside cosy buds.