Winter colour

If you want flowers and a shortish perennial for a sunny area, there's Iris unguicularis which flowers amazingly early in the winter and early spring. If you have a bit of shade Hellebores are wonderful. For shrubs, there are Daphnes, Wintersweet (Chimonanthus) and Hamamelis as well as Winter Jasmine, Skimmias, Mahonia, Viburnum tinum and V.bodnantse, Osmanthus and Garrya Elliptica (long tassels). Don't forget good old Forsythia! It flowers really early.( I haven't forgotten short flowered plants like Polyanthus Primulas, heathers and winter pansies, but you did say the Rudbeckias were in the back of the border, so they wouldn't be seen!) Want any more suggestions? I am sure there are more if I think hard. :-)

I agree with Spitzhenry the large Hellebores or the stinking Hellebores are lovely dark green with their light to lime green flowers for a winter and early spring bed, I planted mine like you in a bare patch and they seem to survive in amongst the summer plants keeping their heads down and are there ready for next winter.

Thank you both so much, there is no shade there and in the summer it's very dry and warm would that be okay for the hellebores? I love the sound of the iris unguicularis and the Daphne. I treated myself to an Escallonia Elles gold today so that will take up a bit of space too.

No, most Hellebores prefer some shade. The green one might be OK though - I've got one or two in the front bed in the sun. Helleborus foetidus. Cut the seed heads off if you do grow one or two - they seed themselves everywhere otherwise!