With the right plants you can make sure that you have a colourful winter garden that will last right through until spring and will give you a brighter Christmas.
How to create a wonderful winter display
- In winter it’s even more important to add in manure or compost to the soil. The idea is to work this organic enrichment into the top nine inches of soil.
- When planning a border and choosing the plants to go in it, there are four key areas to be thinking about:
- Structure
- Texture
- Colour
- Scent
- You probably won’t be starting with a completely empty border but you can work round any plants that are already there.
- The larger plants go in first to give structure and if you do your planting in triangles and pyramids, they always look good
Planting suggestions:
Taller plants – Variagated Holly, Witch Hazel, Cornus ‘Mid-Winter Fire’, Callicarpa,
Smaller plants – Ferns, Dogwoods,
Colour – Winter colour is less about flowers and more about leaves, stems and fruits – Spindle trees have shocking pink seed cases and inside they have berries of bright orange. For vibrant purple, plant Liriope muscari and for bright whites and pinks have Cyclamen to give your winter border real impact.
Scent – People tend to think that winter is not a time for fragrance but if you plant Christmas Box (Sarcoccoca confusa), the Witch Hazel and Mahonia you will get a wonderful scent.