[Columbia, SC] - Winter isn't all work and no play at Riverbanks Botanical Garden. Winter chores like raking, mulching, and pruning will continue to be done throughout the season, but Riverbanks horticulturists are excited about the winter colors that make the Garden worth discovering no matter what the weather.

"Pansies and ornamental vegetables showcase beautiful shades of purple and that's before the garden explodes in mid-January with sunny yellow hues as the first of the daffodils bloom," said Riverbanks curator of horticulture, Andy Cabe.

Riverbanks Botanical Garden has approximately 25,000 daffodils expected to bloom this winter, with 4,000 new bulbs planted in the Garden's entrance alone. Daffodil enthusiasts will enjoy the unusual variety with the Narcissus 'Tahiti,' 'Peeping Tom' and 'Pink Charm' cultivars popping up as crowd-pleasers.

"Flowering shrubs are a great way to add color to your garden in the winter months," said Cabe. "Starting in the fall, camellias and hollies can be great choices, adding not just color but texture to your landscape." Guests can look for the festively red holly berries throughout Riverbanks' terraced Walled Garden, not far from the Lenten roses, small perennial evergreens that bloom early in the winter.

Flowering apricots are small trees that pack a big punch in the winter months. Several varieties in and around the Garden bloom with fragrant, bright red, white or pink flowers during South Carolina's colder months. Early blooming dogwoods like the Cornus mas 'Spring Glow' compliment the flowering apricots' with yellow flowers of their own as early as February.

Winter wanderers should pay special attention as they enter Riverbanks Botanical Garden through the Bog Plaza where Prunus mume 'Matsubara Red' displays a fanfare of red.