Most people who enjoy gardening will regularly visit garden centres or open gardens from spring into autumn, but how many of us venture there during winter? Although you may not realise it, the winter months are actually a great time to plan additions to your garden or outdoor space. Finding plants which create colour, texture, and interest during the winter adds another season of interest to your garden.
Once beds and borders are tidy and the leaves have fallen from deciduous trees and shrubs, we are afforded the opportunity to see what needs to be transformed. Look out of your windows, both downstairs and up, to take a good look at your garden space: viewing from an upper-level window will give you a different perspective, highlighting areas of the garden which may not be so visible from ground level.
Structures such as obelisks (used to support clematis and other climbers during the summer) can become focal points. Sculptures and garden ornaments placed in the right location can enhance a space; even outdoor mirrors can add to your design. Carefully planned garden lighting brings bare branches to life and reduces the outdoor darkness which closes in so early. However, it is also important to choose the right plants for your garden.
Key considerations
Do your chosen plants have more than one season of interest?
Space might be limited in your garden, so choosing the right plant becomes imperative. There are many plants which offer colourful or fragrant blossom from winter into spring, which can then offer autumnal colour and berries lasting into the winter. Winter flowering plants often have smaller flowers which are highly perfumed such as Daphne, Sweet Box (Sarcococca), Mahonia, Callicarpa Profusion with its vibrant purple berries and small lilac flowers which bloom during summer, and Viburnum tinus which is also evergreen.
Although not fragrant, Garrya elliptica (silk tassel bush) which grows into a small tree up to 3.5m tall or can be trained as a wall shrub. It has long, grey-green male catkins which flower in January and February. Although less commonly seen, the female plant produces clusters of long purple-browns fruits in summer.
Some early flowering trees such as the dwarf weeping willow Kilmarnock willow produce fuzzy grey catkins in late winter/early spring before developing yellow green leaves. Some varieties of early-flowering Magnolia also have interesting flower buds which appear before the foliage.
Consider evergreen shrubs with colour-changing leaves
As the temperatures fall, some evergreen plants have foliage which changes colour. Sacred Bamboo (Nandina domestica) has green foliage turning a purple-red in winter and white spring blossom turning into scarlet berries in autumn. Although this plant is referred to as a Bamboo it actually comes from the Berberidaceae family (Berberis, Mahonia and Epimedium). Another great plant to add a splash of golden winter colour is Euonymus fortunei Emerald Gold whose leaves get a pinkish tinge following prolonged periods of cold.
Use evergreens to provide year-long structure
Shrubs used for topiary can, over time, provide great supporting structures during the bleaker winter months. Whilst Buxus (box) was once used for low clipped hedging or developed into interesting shapes, opt for you can choose yew or Japanese holly (Ilex crenata) to avoid the dreaded box blight and box tree moth caterpillar. Bear in mind, though, it prefers prefer cool, damp summers and well drained acidic soil so can be challenging to grow. Also, look out for evergreens with interesting, variegated leaves for winter interest.
Choose plant varieties with eye-catching bark
There are a number of deciduous trees which provide outstanding structure and colour in a winter garden. Silver and Himalayan birches with their silvery white bark both look stunning in winter. Deciduous Dogwoods such as Cornus sanguinea Midwinter Fire has – as the name suggests – stems which become fiery orange-red and yellow in winter, whilst Cornus alba Sibirica has slender red stems turning bright crimson in winter. All dogwoods need half of their stems cutting hard back in late spring to force new growth. Colourful stems are best showcased with a darker green evergreen planted in the background.
Add grasses and sedges for additional structure and interest
Ornamental grasses and sedges are wonderful plants. They are easy to look after and offer a great variety of heights, textures and forms. Taller varieties such as Miscanthus have seed heads well into winter which, when covered with frost, look particularly spectacular. Some may incur late autumn damage however if strong gales snap the stems.
Try succession planting for prolonged interest
When you are planning which bulbs to plant, find varieties which will take you through late winter into spring: from early flowering snow drops, winter aconites, cyclamen to early flowering narcissus, mid spring flowering narcissus and then tulips. This will ensure that as one variety goes over, others will brighten your garden. The same with perennials. Winter-flowering Hellebores with their nodding blooms in shades of white, pink, ruby or even green flower well into spring. Select varieties to bloom at different times to prolong interest.
Look for summer flowering perennials with interesting seed heads
Although many perennials will have died off by the time we get to winter, stems and seed heads can provide form and interest in borders. They can also feed birds and other wildlife so don’t be tempted to be too brutal with the secateurs as you are tidying your borders.
Ferns are useful additions
Several varieties of ferns will hold their green fronds well into winter. Ideal for shady areas look out for species such as the soft shield fern (Polystichum setiferum). The leaves persist through winter, only needing to be removed when the new fronds push through in spring.
Site and soil
Many winter flowering shrubs will grow in areas of summer shade as during the winter and early spring overhead trees are devoid of their leaf canopy allowing natural light to flow through to the beds. Plants which bloom in winter can look somewhat disappointing after their flowers have faded so place them in the shade where summer flowering shrubs won’t grow.
It is also important to ensure that whatever plants you choose are suitable for your soil type. For example, clay soil can become waterlogged in winter and is often as hard as rock in summer. Further, there are a number of winter and early spring flowering plants and shrubs that require acid soil so unless you know you can provide this soil type permanently or are planning to use in pots, choose carefully.
