Now is the time to get some new plants in the ground to improve your garden's winter colour. Year-round interest is the magic goal for wonderful gardens, so bag some of these beauties for something to look at from the kitchen window!Would you believe that I started off this list thinking that I'd have maybe 7 or 8 really great plants? Then I ended up with 16 and had to cut them back (!). That's the reason for the second part of the list -there are a LOT of plants that look amazing in winter, but are non-descript through the rest of the year. Those that have made this list really do earn their place all through the year.
1. Cornus - SUCH a star in the winter garden. I have one directly outside my kitchen window, and it glows - blazes - in the dull winter sunshine. If you don't know - this is THE plant for winter stem colour. Available in a range from yellow through orange reds and even purple, it earns its place not only for colour, but damn-near indestructiveness and its ready-to-grow-anywhere determination. In the summer, it can be a bright green or variegated shrub with pretty white flowers, providing a sturdy backdrop to your border. Prune in late March to mid April (before it puts on new growth in spring) for the best colour over winter.
2. Cyclamen - They may be tiny and low-growing, but the splash of colour that Cyclamen bring to the winter garden is not to be missed. Both Cyclamen coum and Cyclamen hederifolium will flower over winter, the difference being in the leaf shape - see the pictures for how they differ. These plants are often given in gift baskets - if planted out in the garden they will happily establish and spread, eventually developing a rich carpet of colour, best beneath deciduous trees.
3. Lonicera fragrantissima - Winter Honeysuckle. Although this arching shrub can get quite big, the fragrance is what earns it a place in the winter garden. Not to be confused with the summer flowering Honeysuckle, this is not a climber, but a deciduous shrub best placed at the back of a generous border, where it can provide green structure and form during the rest of the year.
4. Daphne - Another amazing scent in the winter months. Evergreen and more compact than winter flowering Honeysuckle, Daphne are slow-growing - so may be better suited if space is tight. They put down deep roots, and don't enjoy being pruned, so they make great low-maintenance plants for the busy gardener. Plant several, lining the path to the front door - you'll have a pretty shrub all year, and gorgeous fragrance in the winter.
5. Ilex acquifolium - Almost everyone is familiar with the glossy evergreen leaves and bright berries of Holly. Now available in a huge variety of leaf colours (even ones with no spikes!) and berry colours, this versatile plant can be kept trimmed as a hedge or allowed to grow into a feature tree. If grown as a tree, Holly is happy to have the lower branches taken off - removing the danger of accidentally pricked fingers.
6. Viburnum - There are lots of different Viburnums, but the one I'm thinking of here is really the winter-flowering 'Dawn'. Like make of the other plants in this list, it's an evergreen, and will be a stalwart at the back of any border during the year, but it really comes into its own with its lovely pinkish-white flowers which emerge during the autumn, and continue through even the hardest frosts. The scent is pretty, but it's the sight of frost-covered blooms that really cheers the soul.
7. Phormium - Finally, Phormium makes this list, being evergreen, and with such a different form to the other plants on the list. Although preferring a sheltered spot in the garden, the variety of colours you can choose from make this plant a good pick for winter colour - and indeed the same colour throughout the year - the only plant in this list to boast that achievement. If you are lucky, it might even flower in the summer as well!
October is a great month to plant new shrubs, and getting out in the garden is good for health – planting soon warms you up if the weather is chilly. If you’d like more advice on what will look good in your garden this winter, book a consultation today!
Plants that didn't make the list:
1. Sarcococca - Although the winter fragrance is lovely, it can be fussy, and just isn't interesting enough throughout the rest of the year.
2. Hedera helix - Ivy - fabulous for late sources of nectar for wildlife, but too many people find it invasive.
3. Winter Clematis - a welcome burst of flowers in the winter, but can get leggy and untidy for the rest of the year.
Clematis cirrhosa By sunoochi - Clematis cirrhosa L., Sp. Pl. 1: 544 (1753)., CC BY 2.0
4. Chaenomeles - lovely bright winter flowers - but tricky to train and prune properly.
5. Mahonia - Prickly, and quickly gets leggy - although great at the back of a border.
6. Galanthus - I know! But they are there ONLY over winter, and then disappear.
7. Winter aconites - lovely, but can be a little invasive.
8. Hellebores - Just not interesting enough for the rest of the year, sadly.
9. Bergenia - can be fussy, and not everyone's cup of tea.
Well - I expect I've divided opinion here - let me know your favourite in the comments - and why they should have made the list!