violas

When my hanging baskets have finished I put winter flowering pansies in them for winter interest.

Viola sorbets are noted for their winter hardiness but I do not know if this means they flowers over the winter?

If you are looking for an indoors winter flower I wonder if an african violet would fit your requirements as they can flower all year

As Drc says, winter flowering pansies, which are viola, but just not the small ones. Even these, though, will not flower when it is very cold, but they recover well when the weather warms slightly. It has to be said, though, that they look their best in September and October, and then from February through to May. If you decide to buy them, get the biggest plants you can find - check the rootballs. They're often sold in bedding trays and the size of the rooting pocket is often quite small - they don't grow very much at first ,so its best to put the larger rooted ones in.

Last year I did a bit of a home trial on these so called winter flowering pansies and violas. I got various varieties from a couple of nurseries (mail order) and different sized plugs. There is absolutely no doubt that, as Bamboo says - the bigger the plant you start with and the sooner the better - the finer the show.
These bargain cut-price small plug offers are not worth considering - especially in the more northern areas of GB. I am in NE Scotland and certainly all the plants did flower but the small ones were miserable until nearly spring!! Personally I find polyanthus and primroses do better.