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It always delights me that some flowers can tolerate rough weather to give us a bit of cheering colour at this time of year. Even if the frost eventually proves too much for the tiny flowers of this winter jasmine (Jasminum nudiflorum), there are lots of new buds which will soon open to continue the show.
These flowers are especially welcome when almost everything else seems dormant in the coldest days of winter. They encourage me to take a wander round the garden so that I can see them up close and enjoy their exuberant colour.
Unlike other jasmines, winter jasmine isn’t a twining plant. Instead it has very thin and floppy stems which can be easily trained against a fence or trellis. Or you can do what I’ve done – just allow it to weave its way through other shrubs for support. (That does get rather untidy!)
Although it’s said to be an excellent winter nectar-source, I haven’t yet seen bees on it. Perhaps there will be in early spring, as this shrub has a long flowering period. (From December or January right through into March.)
But whether the bees like it or not, I certainly do. These little flowers are brightening an otherwise dark area of the garden like a sprinkling of yellow stars. They bring some joyful colour to the garden as it waits for spring.
Ann Mackay: Inspired by Nature 
I didn’t know that there’s a winter jasmine. It’s beautiful, and it certainly would be cheering to have that in the garden at this time of year. Does it also have a nice fragrance? My suspicion is that it doesn’t, but I don’t have any reason to think that except that if I were living in that cold weather, and putting out that beautiful color, I wouldn’t have any energy left to produce fragrance!
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The winter jasmine doesn’t have any fragrance but the Viburnum bodnantense from last week’s post does, so we do get a little fragrance. It’s not strong, but that may depend on the position and the weather because I’ve come across the same shrub in other gardens and noticed the fragrance more.
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These are so beautiful–how wonderful to have color in a winter garden.
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Thanks Madeline! It is lovely to be able to enjoy a little bit of colour at this time of year. 🙂
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Love these pictures, Ann! Definitely a cheerful sight in winter!!
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It’s such a glowing colour that it does raise my spirits when I see it. And it won’t be so long before there’s more colour from the hellebores… 🙂
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Sweet
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Thanks Flower! 🙂
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Beautiful! These stunning colors really do add a sense of joy to midwinter!
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It does make a difference to have a few things in flower. Hubby has suggested we take a trip around some of our favourite garden centres/nurseries tomorrow – so maybe we’ll end up with some more winter colour… 🙂
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Fun! Enjoy picking out some new plants!
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🙂 🙂 🙂
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Neat! Anything that flowers in the winter is fantastic and this Jasmine sure is. Lucky you, Ann.
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I am indeed lucky! 🙂
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Very pretty Ann! The yellow is definitely cheery this time of year!
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There are other winter yellows too – mahonia, which we do have, and winter aconites which we don’t. (Yet! I do intend to plant some, maybe next autumn.)
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I think yellow is so such a nice color to cheer up a wintry landscape. Yours look so pretty.
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Thanks Syd! We need a little bit of colour right now!
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It surprises me to learn about a plant that flowers from December through March in so northern a climate. I see from Wikipedia that winter jasmine is native to China, where its name means ‘the flower that welcomes Spring’.
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It’s a tough plant that seems able to keep going – though our winters aren’t severe in Suffolk. (Hope I’m not tempting fate – or the weather!)
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Beautiful.
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Thank you! 🙂
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Your jasmine looks like a welcome splash of winter colour. I should really look for another and somewhere to put it. Had a couple years ago when my lass Jasmine was little.
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Jasmine is a lovely name – and a lovely plant too. 🙂
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Thank you for sharing these frosty beauties with the rest of us, Ann.
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You’re very welcome Tanja! Hope to have more pretties to share through the rest of the winter… 🙂
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