As we’re in the middle of winter, we know it can seem like our gardens are on pause – it feels like life only starts to grow when spring comes around and the sun becomes more frequent.
However, despite what you might think, there is still plenty of possibility for life within our gardens that you might not be aware of!
Including a variety of winter interest within your planting pallet can bring some joy even in the most frigid of temperatures, so here’s a few ways to go about it:
Evergreen plants
One way to make sure there is some colour in your garden at all times is to have a variety of evergreen shrubs within your collection.
An evergreen plant is one that doesn’t loose it’s leaves at any point throughout the year, so there will still be a variety of foliage visible throughout the year.
Here are a few examples of some hardy evergreen shrubs that do well in the Scottish climate:
- Elaeagnus × submacrophylla ‘Gilt Edge’ (Oleaster)
- Viburnum davidii (David viburnum)
- Skimmia japonica (Japanese skimmia)
- Erica carnea (Winter heather)
Structural plants
A different approach to including some winter interest is to introduce some structural or ‘architectural’ plants within your plant beds.
Structural plants tend to have strong, unique, and striking shapes, due to their form, foliage, or flowers. When these plants die in the winter their ‘structure’ is left behind, but you don’t need to cut them down! These beautiful forms have a way of adding a new kind life and excitement to your garden, even after they turn brown!
These also happen to make great homes for invertebrates during the cold months, so we get to enjoy having them in our gardens whilst giving back to environment at the same time.
Here are a few examples of some structural plants that create some interesting shapes throughout winter:
- Phlomis russeliana (Jerusalem sage)
- Lythrum salicaria (Purple loosestrife)
- Hylotelephium × mottramianum ‘Herbstfreude’ (Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’)
- Cephalaria gigantea (Giant scabious)
- Lunaria annua (Honesty)
Winter blooming bulbs/ flowers
And finally, an easy addition to your winter garden is some winter flowering plants! A range of perennials, shrubs, and bulbs all flower throughout the cold months of the year and make a lovely addition to any bed or pot.
Here are a few examples of some winter flowering plants that we love and recommend:
- Helleborus niger (Christmas rose)
- Iris unguicularis (Algerian iris)
- Abeliophyllum distichum (White forsythia)
- Sarcococca confusa (Sweet box)
- Galanthus nivalis (Snowdrop)
