Look for these festive flowering beauties for your cold-season garden

One of my favorite winter pleasures comes from wandering around nurseries. Beautiful groupings of plants bring us ideas for the cold-season garden, and the flowering plants always surprise me.

So, if you are visiting a nursery to look for seasonal decorations, take some time to check out the brilliance of winter bloomers. The plants listed here thrive in our mild winters, but not where temperatures stay below freezing for months.

Immediate garden brilliance comes from winter camellias, generally Camellia sasanqua, blooming now in nursery containers. The bright red Sasanqua, well-named 'Yuletide,' has a flurry of yellow stamens that add more color to the single flowers.

Sasanquas bloom through late November, December and into January, opening their flowers with moderate weather and staying shut during freezes. Their glossy dark-green leaves complement interior décor or shine out in the garden landscape. (Other easily found Camellia sasanqua colors include lavender 'Winter Star,' soft pink double-flowered 'Jean May' and deep rose 'Kanjiro.' White 'Apple Blossom' opens from pink buds.)

In our enthusiasm for rhododendrons west of the Cascades, I think we overlook the variety and possibilities of camellias. The winter types possess urban elegance and can grow well espaliered against a wall or fence.

You also might find forms of more-familiar Camellia japonica that bloom early in the season; a good white is 'Alba Plena.' Nurseries also might have bushes of 'Daikagura Variegata' with red and white flowers blooming now.

In the maritime Northwest, several of these bloom reliably in December and January. Other early japonicas include coral-pink 'Nuccio's Gem' and red 'Wildfire.' The formally shaped, soft-pink 'Debutante' looks as if it was created in wax; my mother grew this in a tiny Ohio greenhouse and had coffee parties with the neighbors when it bloomed in December.

Strawberry tree, Arbutus unedo, bears quarter-size, red ball berries, accented by white dangling flowers. This year's flowers form next year's berries; the dark green leaves, red fruit and white bloom make this a holiday garden natural.

Strawberry tree grows slowly to about 25 feet; for a smaller version, look for Arbutus unedo 'Compacta,' slow to about 10 feet. The shortest is 'Elfin King,' to about 5-6 feet, and this one makes a fine container plant. Related to our native madrona (Arbutus menziesii), the strawberry tree also has beautiful russet bark that peels off handsomely.

My favorite winter bloomer won't show flowers until mid-January, and even then they hide tucked under leaves. Sarcococca ruscifolia (sweet box or Christmas box) has evergreen glossy foliage to about 4 feet. This useful shrub thrives in dry shade once it's established.

When the tiny fringed white flowers bloom, the scent transforms winter into spring. I have one in a container by the front door, and the fragrance fills the porch. A smaller species, Sarcococca humilis, carries the same flowers and fragrance on an 18-inch plant.

One more evergreen, a sweet-fragranced February bloomer, is Viburnum burkwoodii. The viburnums are a large and useful tribe of shrubs, with deciduous and evergreen varieties.

All these winter-blooming evergreens set our December landscapes apart from those in colder areas; we can revel in leafiness and early bloom, one shrub at a time.

Garden expert Mary Robson, retired area horticulture agent for Washington State University/King County Cooperative Extension, shares gardening tips every Wednesday. Her e-mail is marysophia@olympus.net.