Garden design solutions: 5 flowering shrubs for winter interest
Mid to late winter can be a tricky time for a garden- we are tantalisingly close to the beginning of spring, but we’ve still got the long dark nights and cold temperatures of winter. Perhaps February being the shortest month of the year isn’t too bad a thing?
Our gardens can still be a source of pleasure though, and here are five brilliant shrubs to brighten up any late winter garden:
Sarcococca ‘Winter Gem’: a compact evergreen shrub with glossy dark green leaves and tassle-like creamy white flowers. Strongly scented and guaranteed to prompt a smile on a crisp winter’s day. Best in full or part shade, this a useful evergreen shrub for a tricky corner of a garden.
Camellia ‘Donation’ (pictured): a robust large evergreen shrub with beautiful large pink flowers. Providing colour and cheer from late winter to early spring, this is a lovely plant for a mixed planting scheme. Camellias tend to dislike very alkaline soils, and are best planted away from early morning sunshine (which can scorch the flowers on colder mornings).
Mahonia ‘Charity’: one of our absolute favourite evergreen shrubs, Mahonias give us textural interest throughout the year and spikes of gloriously bright and cheerful golden yellow flowers throughout the winter months. Happy in full sun or partial shade, this is a large and attractive evergreen star.
Skimmia ‘Rubella’: a slow-growing evergreen shrub perfect for winter interest. Bushy in form, and with dark green, slightly glossy, leaves, this is a fairly anonymous plant for much of the year. It comes to the fore in late winter when clusters of bright red buds develop, later opening into perfumed early spring white flowers. Preferring full or partial shade, and acidic to neutral soils, Skimmia ‘Rubella’ are a great choice for a smaller garden or a large container.
Viburnum ‘Dawn’: OK, this one is a bit of a cheat because it isn’t evergreen! Viburnum ‘Dawn’ is, however, one of our ‘must have’ winter plants because it flowers on bare stems. With abundant clusters of wonderfully attractive and delicately scented pink/white blooms, this is a great upright and vigorous shrub for the middle or back of a mixed planting scheme.
In a few months times we will be surrounded by an abundance of spring and summer colour, but few plants can provide as much delight as those which choose to perform in mid to late winter.
Tythorne Garden Design provide professional fixed-fee garden design solutions for customers in Grantham, Stamford, Newark & surrounding areas. Book your initial garden design consultation today by calling 07900 224 239 or 01529 455 355.