January’s almost permanent steel-grey sky belies an understated charm and resilience, encapsulated in the flowers that blossom even in these harsh conditions.
While January is a traditionally quiet month in the garden, there are lots of flowers to get excited about. Here, we’ll take a look at some beautiful in season flowers. January isn’t just for the winter blues!
Talking of blues, this article will also uncover the range of blue flowers available in January.
Are There Flowers in Season in January?
Wild snowdrops (Credit: Trudie Davidson via Getty Images)
It might feel like the harsh British winter and delicate flowers aren’t particularly compatible bedfellows, but a lot of flowers that are in season in January are more hardy than you think!
One of the most famous of all the January in season flowers is the Galanthus nivalis, better known as the common snowdrop. They put on a great winter show and on cold walks they really brighten up the view!
For a delightful burst of vibrant colour when little else is flowering, cyclamen come in a variety of colours including reds, pinks, lilacs and purples and they make perfect pot plants to liven up your winter home.
Eranthis hyemalis, or winter aconite, will give colour to a winter garden with small yellow cup-shaped flowers even if there’s snow on the ground! And don’t forget Crocus sieberi, an ornamental crocus often called Bowles’s White. It’s a perennial bulb that requires little care and you can leave it alone to flower.
If it’s mild in January, in season flowers may include daffodils towards the end of the month. They’re traditionally associated with Easter but can arrive as early as late January if the climate is unseasonably warm.
Amazing Amaryllis
Red amaryllis flowers covered in dew. (Credit: Douglas Peebles via Getty Images)
If you’re looking for a true statement bloom and one of prettiest in season flowers January has to offer, look no further than the stunning amaryllis.
The gorgeous long stems and velvet-like petals come in a range of colours including salmon-pink, deep red and yellow. There are two species of amaryllis, and the more popular of the two, Amaryllis belladonna, comes from South Africa.
In America, they are often known as ‘Naked Lady’ because they don’t have any leaves and in the language of flowers, known as floriography which was popularised in Vicotrian England, amaryllis stands for ‘love, beauty and determination.’
Blue is the Colour
Blue hyacinths in a ceramic pot (Credit: Photos by RA Kearton via Getty Images)
There are some wonderful blue flowers available in January. One of the most striking is Iris unguicularis, or Algerian iris. It’s as colourful and as big as its summer cousins and the beautiful pale – often translucent – blue flowers usually open in November and will keep going until spring arrives.
Glory-of-the-Snow, or to give it its Latin name, Chionodoxa luciliae, is one of the earliest flowers to bloom in the new year and it can often be seen poking its head through the snow! The star-shaped flowers, originally from western Turkey, produce a stunning carpet of blue blooms.
The wonderful five-petalled violets are another of the classic blue flowers that are in season in January. There are many species of viola, but the most common is the Viola sororia, or the blue violet, which is believed to be native to the eastern parts of North America.
By the end of January, in season flowers include the fantastically fragrant hyacinths. Instantly recognisable, they come in lots of colours from pure white to deep blue and tango orange and look amazing in everything from a small vase in the kitchen to a grand wedding bouquet!
