Perennials: winter garden, 0 by Weerobin

Weerobin wrote:
Cindy, I haven't been out to look at the daphne or hellebore, since they're under snow.
My japanese apricot got zapped - predictable.
That's the chance you take when you plant those early bloomers.
But I still like the occasional flash of spring in the dead of winter. I'll take my chances.

Obliqua, the daphne usually blooms end feb or first march.
The buds form all winter long and look nice and increasingly plump.
It's pretty much not hardy for me (I have to wrap with burlap and it still has significant winter injury),
so I doubt you could have it outside. I have a variegated one in the unheated garage which blooms early Feb and has an outstanding scent. It's in a small pot and I can easily bring it out to the porch for a little fresh air during mild periods of winter. It's nice having a beautiful flowering plant on the porch in the middle of winter!
The picture is of my small daphne odora aureamarginata in a clay pot getting some sun last February.

As for the cyclamens, I think they're hardy for you (not the florist cyclamen, of course).
The key to them is keeping them relatively dry in summer, when they're dormant.
I do that by planting in an area with lots of tree root competition.
The tree roots compete so avidly for the water that it keeps the cyclamen dry.