A garden should firstly be designed to be spectacular in the winter; then summer will add another dimension to it when it comes. In this way, you can have colour and interest in your garden through every month of the year. Some winter plants are as brightly-coloured as any summer flower.
Put plants that will perform the best through the winter months in a position where they will be seen from your windows. Other gems can be found on an occasional walk around the garden. You don't have to have a greenhouse to have winter colour.
Use tall or broad structures as a starting point and then the rest of the garden can be designed around them; and there are a surprisingly large number of plants to choose from to give interest right through the winter.
Roses are summer flowers that offer a large selection of colours to choose from and often last well into December. They can be positioned in beds or trained up walls, arches or porches.
Sorbus are trees that produce brightly-coloured berries far into the autumn. The berries stay on the branches after the leaves have dropped. The trees will then produce white flowers in the spring to give interest in another season. Whitebeams will grow quite large but rowans can stay a reasonable size for a garden.
Cotoneaster and snowberries also produce berries in the winter. Callicarpa has very unusual mauve-coloured berries. Arums have low-growing spikes of berries and interesting foliage. Holly can grow to a good height. It is famous for its berries and can have variegated leaves tinged with yellow or cream to add even more colour. These leaves are an interesting shape and look particularly nice when edged with frost.
The Himalayan birch has stark, white bark that will stand out in a prominent position. The Tibetan cherry has a rich, dark, shiny mahogany bark. Fatshedera has large glossy leaves that will last through the winter and Virginia creeper will clothe a fence in vibrant, autumn hues.
Dark green laurels and the variegated euonymus are both plants with a solid form. In contrast, other plants like lonicera have a more open structure. Bamboos are an exotic-looking evergreen but may need to be contained in a pot if they are one of the species with invasive tendencies.
Other plants that can give height and colour are prunus with pink blossom, kerria with yellow flowers and pittosporum with silvery leaves. Acacias are very tall trees that burst into noticeable, yellow blossom in February.
Pyracantha has a huge abundance of stunning red or orange berries and is a good candidate for growing up a wall. Jasmine likes to grow up a wall too but with its straggly habit looks good mixed with ivy. Garrya is an interesting plant to grow over an arch and camellias have lovely flowers in a variety of colours, but need protection from the frost.
Cornus (or dogwood) with vivid red or yellow stems can add height to a garden and so can mahonia with its acid-yellow flowers which bloom from November into the spring.
Grasses that last through the winter can be low-growing and have a windswept look, or be tall and elegant with plumes of seed heads that catch the gauzy, winter light from a low sun.
Plants that have interesting leaf shapes are: euphorbia, choisya, hebes and cynara. Heucheras have foliage in a good range of colours and will also bear flowers on delicate stems in the spring. They are low-growing plants suitable for ground cover through the winter. They will benefit from being tidied up in the early spring.
Plants that produce flowers in the middle of the winter are white snowdrops, pink cyclamen, yellow aconites and multi-coloured, winter-flowering pansies. Hellebores offer a large range of flower colours and often very interesting leaves that last well into the spring. They are followed by crocuses, celandines, primroses and dwarf irises.
Shrubs that produce winter flowers are witch hazels, catkins and viburnums.
If you need plants to cover a hard-to-reach bank, you could choose ferns or bergenias because these don't need much care.
Architectural plants that make a lone statement are European fan palms, fatsias, cordylines, phormiums, chamaerops and yuccas but these plants need a degree of shelter and may need to be wrapped in fleece through the worst of the winter weather.
Plants to keep near a front door should be chosen carefully, because they will be passed by the most. Christmas box has a powerful, arresting scent from tiny flowers. It has a very long flowering period so is well worth growing. Other plants that emit perfume into the winter air are daphnes and edgeworthias.
With some thought and planning a garden in winter can be surprisingly colourful and fragrant. There is no need to wait until daffodil season to see flowers or colourful foliage outside your windows.
Christina Sinclair is a lecturer and self-published children's author with qualifications in design. She is now writing 'The Salty Sam Fun Blog for Children' which is to be found on her website. The blog has articles about history, science, nature, gardening and environmental issues. It also has free craft downloads, knitting patterns, easy recipes and other projects for children. Visit it at http://www.christina-sinclair.com/blog/
Article provided by Christina Sinclair
Put plants that will perform the best through the winter months in a position where they will be seen from your windows. Other gems can be found on an occasional walk around the garden. You don't have to have a greenhouse to have winter colour.
Use tall or broad structures as a starting point and then the rest of the garden can be designed around them; and there are a surprisingly large number of plants to choose from to give interest right through the winter.
Roses are summer flowers that offer a large selection of colours to choose from and often last well into December. They can be positioned in beds or trained up walls, arches or porches.
Sorbus are trees that produce brightly-coloured berries far into the autumn. The berries stay on the branches after the leaves have dropped. The trees will then produce white flowers in the spring to give interest in another season. Whitebeams will grow quite large but rowans can stay a reasonable size for a garden.
Cotoneaster and snowberries also produce berries in the winter. Callicarpa has very unusual mauve-coloured berries. Arums have low-growing spikes of berries and interesting foliage. Holly can grow to a good height. It is famous for its berries and can have variegated leaves tinged with yellow or cream to add even more colour. These leaves are an interesting shape and look particularly nice when edged with frost.
The Himalayan birch has stark, white bark that will stand out in a prominent position. The Tibetan cherry has a rich, dark, shiny mahogany bark. Fatshedera has large glossy leaves that will last through the winter and Virginia creeper will clothe a fence in vibrant, autumn hues.
Dark green laurels and the variegated euonymus are both plants with a solid form. In contrast, other plants like lonicera have a more open structure. Bamboos are an exotic-looking evergreen but may need to be contained in a pot if they are one of the species with invasive tendencies.
Other plants that can give height and colour are prunus with pink blossom, kerria with yellow flowers and pittosporum with silvery leaves. Acacias are very tall trees that burst into noticeable, yellow blossom in February.
Pyracantha has a huge abundance of stunning red or orange berries and is a good candidate for growing up a wall. Jasmine likes to grow up a wall too but with its straggly habit looks good mixed with ivy. Garrya is an interesting plant to grow over an arch and camellias have lovely flowers in a variety of colours, but need protection from the frost.
Cornus (or dogwood) with vivid red or yellow stems can add height to a garden and so can mahonia with its acid-yellow flowers which bloom from November into the spring.
Grasses that last through the winter can be low-growing and have a windswept look, or be tall and elegant with plumes of seed heads that catch the gauzy, winter light from a low sun.
Plants that have interesting leaf shapes are: euphorbia, choisya, hebes and cynara. Heucheras have foliage in a good range of colours and will also bear flowers on delicate stems in the spring. They are low-growing plants suitable for ground cover through the winter. They will benefit from being tidied up in the early spring.
Plants that produce flowers in the middle of the winter are white snowdrops, pink cyclamen, yellow aconites and multi-coloured, winter-flowering pansies. Hellebores offer a large range of flower colours and often very interesting leaves that last well into the spring. They are followed by crocuses, celandines, primroses and dwarf irises.
Shrubs that produce winter flowers are witch hazels, catkins and viburnums.
If you need plants to cover a hard-to-reach bank, you could choose ferns or bergenias because these don't need much care.
Architectural plants that make a lone statement are European fan palms, fatsias, cordylines, phormiums, chamaerops and yuccas but these plants need a degree of shelter and may need to be wrapped in fleece through the worst of the winter weather.
Plants to keep near a front door should be chosen carefully, because they will be passed by the most. Christmas box has a powerful, arresting scent from tiny flowers. It has a very long flowering period so is well worth growing. Other plants that emit perfume into the winter air are daphnes and edgeworthias.
With some thought and planning a garden in winter can be surprisingly colourful and fragrant. There is no need to wait until daffodil season to see flowers or colourful foliage outside your windows.
Christina Sinclair is a lecturer and self-published children's author with qualifications in design. She is now writing 'The Salty Sam Fun Blog for Children' which is to be found on her website. The blog has articles about history, science, nature, gardening and environmental issues. It also has free craft downloads, knitting patterns, easy recipes and other projects for children. Visit it at http://www.christina-sinclair.com/blog/
Article provided by Christina Sinclair