Tiny marvels dispel winter gloom: the uplifting power of nature!
As I filled up the bird feeders yesterday, I noticed the intense dogwood stems contrasted against the fence, and the first winter clematis flowers emerging. I inhaled deeply, savouring the trace of witch hazel on the breeze.
“Ah”, I said to myself, “I could feast my eyes on this all day.”
So I went back inside to sit on the nice warm sofa, drink tea and gaze out the window.
While the garden does get sleepy from November onwards, it only takes a few plants to add winter interest and entice you out into the fresh air.
Structure
In small gardens, compact shrubs such as bright-barked dogwood, fragrant sweet box, pittosporum and upright rosemary create structure year round.
In the border, I prune the dogwoods (yellow-green ‘Flaviramea’, dark purple ‘Kesselringii’, variegated ‘Eglantissima’, and everyone’s favourite, ‘Midwinter Fire’) close to the ground in late Spring to make room for the developing perennials. By the end of Autumn, the colourful new stems have regrown and are ready to carry the border through the winter.
Another great shrub for spectacular winter colour is every teenage comedian’s go-to plant, Rubus cockburnianus, White Bramble, which is positively luminous in diffuse Winter light.
Sweet box (Sarcococca) can be clipped into compact shapes that, like box (Buxus sempervirens) and Pittosporum tenuifolium ‘Tom Thumb’, are simply background fillers in summer, but become the bones of a garden in winter.
In the same way, the rosemary hedge that trisects my front garden is eclipsed by tulips and daffodils in spring, waves of Lychnis coronaria during summer and white Japanese anemone (Anemone x hybrida ‘Honorine Jobert’) in Autumn.
But once the last anemone flowers fall, the lines of the rosemary hedge lend the garden structure and interest.
Evergreen hedges significantly increase the geometry of a garden, and individual clipped evergreen shrubs can be used in smaller spaces and repeated throughout borders or containers to create rhythm and draw the eye.
Flowers
In Summer, the garden is awash with dahlias, zinnias, calendula, rudbeckia, lavender and roses, making you glad to be alive despite everything that you are going through.
But in the grip of icy winter, a single bloom is capable of summoning joy, never mind a sheet of them.
I planted a couple of winter clematis ‘Jingle Bells’ and ‘Freckles’, up my apple espalier posts near the patio window so the flowers spill over the fence and can be seen from the dining room.
Other winter climbers that light up a dull spot near the house include Clematis napaulensis, Clematis urophylla ‘Winter Beauty’ and winter jasmine (Jasminum nudiflorum), a cheerful wall shrub that thrives in shadier spots.
Our witch hazels (Hamamelis x intermedia ‘Jelena’ and ‘Diane’) are in containers as we have run out of space for trees in the ground , andthey prefer neutral to acid conditions, so with our alkaline soil they are healthier in ericaceous soil-based compost.
During January and February, we bring the witch hazel containers onto the patio so the furled orange-peel flowers can be admired, and the delicate scent appreciated as we potter along the garden path.
Hellebores are a staple of winter gardens, from the purity of the Christmas rose (Helleborus niger) to the soft pinks, reds, greens, and blacks of the Lenten rose (Helleborus x hybrida).
Scent
Witch hazel, winter clematis and sweet box aren’t the only fragrant plants at this time of year, you’ve also got Edgeworthia chrysantha, Winter honeysuckle, viburnum, and mahonia.
These shrubs work well at the back of a border surrounded by spring and summer perennials, with early bulbs like snowdrops and crocus for ground cover interest throughout January and February.
Smaller choices for winter scent in pots close to the house include Coronilla glauca ‘Citrina’ and Daphne odora ‘Aureomarginata’ – two compact evergreen shrubs with beautifully scented flowers.
Adding a couple of compact structural evergreens, some shrubs with vibrant bark, and a few fragrant flowers makes a huge difference to the garden in Winter, keeping your spirits up until the main display of spring bulbs emerges.
Based on an original post by Nic Wilson, Writer and Garden Designer
