Winter Bloomers

Here is a picture of Helleborus niger the "Christmas Rose" which blooms in late February or early March in my garden .
I have read a couple of Nancy Goodwins garden books and she has a tradition of walking around Montrose on Christmas morning and documenting the flowers that are in bloom. The list is suprising long. I understand Montrose is a zone warmer than I am but there has got to be something that I could have blooming right now. The closest I could come right now would be the hellebores except when Scott shoveled the snow he covered them with about 2 feet of the white stuff...sigh. I have heard corsican pansies will bloom 12 months out of the year but the one 4 inch pot I bought a couple of years ago died promptly. Maybe I'll get some seed and try it that way. Obviously further research needs to be done.