Several stalwarts of the winter garden as planted by Jif at the music school. At the front of the border Stinking Hellebore (Helleborous foetidus). In the middle is Cornus sanguinea 'Midwinter Fire'. One of the Dogwoods it is green and leafy in summer with tiny white flowers but the bare stems in winter are what commends it to gardeners. At the back Mahonia x media is evergreen with bright yellow spikes of flowers that bloom from November onwards.

 As I noted recently H. foetidus is typically in flower January/February but seems to be much earlier in recent years in some locales...