| CHRISTMAS | - rose, a snow and frost resilient species of hellebore with radiant white blooms in the colder months, often planted to brighten the winter garden (9) |
| ROSE | Christmas ___; species of hellebore (4) |
| MAESTRO | A hellebore with creamy-rose petals turning pink - 'Virtuoso'? (7) |
| EVERESTE | This crabapple produces masses of white blooms in spring (8) |
| ARD | Crocus ' ___ Schenk' bears large white blooms in spring (3) |
| ITCHWEED | A hellebore with irritant properties that is native to Europe (8) |
| NOISETTE | Hybrid of the China rose and the musk rose; a chocolate made with hazelnuts; a medallion of lamb; or, an espresso with a dash of milk (8) |
| EGLANTINE | A wild rose or sweetbrier with apple-scented foliage and sprays of fragrant pink blooms in the summer; or, John Milton's word in L'Allegro for what is thought to be honeysuckle (9) |
| CHIMMEYS | The ___, in Hooton is a popular country pub that oozes comfortable charm; with a name like this, it's no surprise that the building boasts open fires to warm up the colder months and chilly evenings ( |
| LENT | Religious observance in the Christian calendar that begins on Ash Wednesday, and which gives its name to a type of hellebore (4) |
| BLUSH | Variety of rose; a pinkish-cream colour, a group of boys; or, a cloudy area on the surface of drying gloss paint (5) |
| CRAMBE | ___ cordifolia erupts in summer into a cloud of tiny white blooms above a huge rosette of leaves (6) |
| PANSIES | Winter_ add cheery colour to pots and borders in the colder months (7) |
| HELLEBORE | Known as a Lenten or winter rose, a flower in shades of mauve, pink, soft lime green, cassis or white, arranged in vintage-style wedding bouquets (9) |
| UMBERTOECO | What Italian literary critic and semiotician wrote The Name of the Rose, a best-selling murder mystery? |
| ANEMONE | Associated with Aphrodite's myth, a flower in the family that includes the hellebore and winter aconite (7) |
| GEE | 'Ginny ___ ' is a popular dwarf rhododendron with masses of small, pink and white blooms (3) |
| DAPHNE | The fragrant pink and white blooms of ___ odora brighten the winter garden (6) |
| BOURBON | A scented hybrid rose; a chocolate sandwich biscuit; or, a royal dynasty whose kings included Henry of Navarre and Louis XIV (7) |
| NOD | "And giving a ___, up the chimney he rose" ("A Visit From St. Nicholas" excerpt) |
