Winter Hellebores
Posted on by Yael Ben-Ari

Winter Interest In The Garden

The years end is fast approaching and the lights and beauty of the holidays will subside to winter calm and stillness.  How then to find Winter Interest In The Garden.

SchizostylisThere is a lot still going on in my garden from this year.  A very late bloomer is my Schizostylis with its flaming red flowers.  It is blooming later this year than ever.
Humming Bird In FlightNow I can really see all my humming birds.  I captured this wonderful shot of an Anna’s Humming Bird in flight.  They over winter here.
Winter InterestMy grasses provide interest as they sway in the breeze and provide seeds for the birds.  Raja loves to hide under one of them.  I will cut them back in early spring.  The leaves have not yet completely fallen from my Sweet Gum.  At least now I can see the bird or squirrel nests.
Winter BerriesSeveral of my shrubs still have beautiful berries.  They will finally fall off around January.  Here are photos of the berries from my enormous Burning Bush, a Barberry and out two Beauty Berries.  They are still putting on a show in the garden.  
Backyard Winter GardenThe Backyard Garden has been fairly well put to bed and you can now has been put to bed and you can now see the pathways, new raised beds and aside beds that we put in.  I already have Onions, Garlic and a cover crop of Scarlet Clover planted there
Roses In WinterThe Roses that we cut back are right next to the Rugosas that will likely wait until February for pruning.
Winter Blooming Plants
To keep winter doldrums away, I decided quite some time ago to plant as many Winter Blooming Plants as I can.  That worked well when I lived in a new house where the garden was an open canvas, but this house was already well planted.  Still, I have quite a few Winter Bloomers which were either here or which I planted.  One other thought about having Flowers That Bloom In Winter is that they may provide a food source for over wintering humming birds.
Winter HelleboresSome of those are my Hellebores.  I have three kinds, one which blooms in autumn, one which blooms in winter and one which blooms in early spring.  These are photos of my winter (Helleborus Foetidis, which blooms pale green) and spring bloomer (Hellebores Orientalis, which blooms in all shades of white, pink, purple and yellow).  I actually have blooms on both now.
Winter BloomersMy Snow Drops (Galanthus woronowii – Zone 5-8), which bloom around late February and Muscari, which bloom in March are sending up lots of new growth.  My Sarcococa (Sarcacocca) is an extremely fragrant winter blooming shrub with very tiny, almost invisible white fringe flowers which bloom in February or March.  There are several varieties sold here.  Here you can see the buds on mine.  While the Daphne Odora (Daphne odora), which is also very fragrant blooms in early spring around March or April.
Winter BudsElsewhere in my garden, several shrubs are sending out new growth already.  I certainly hope that a cold January and February won’t damage it.  My neighbors Contorted Filbert (Corylus avellana ‘Contorta’) has catkins.  They are about an inch or two now, but will elongate to ten or more inches when they are in full flower around February.  My double pink Azalea (Rhododendron), has some buds along with beautiful red winter foliage.  The Forsythia (Forsythia ovate – Zone 4-7), which haven’t fully lost its leaves yet, already has buds for spring.  This blooms with beautiful yellow flowers in February.  And my early blooming (April)  Tree Peony (Paeonia), has buds that are showing.
Not usually a winter bloomer, my Schizostylis (with the red blooms above) usually blooms in late autumn after everything else has quit blooming.
There are lots of other Winter Bloomers that I don’t have.  I found a great list at Daves Garden, which I am borrowing from, along with the Hardiness Zone information.  One of my favorites is Witch Hazel (Hamamelis virginiana – Zone 3-8) which blooms with yellow or orange fringe flowers around January or February.  I had one in my previous home that bloomed in January and then again around August.  It has wonderful red to purple fall foliage too.
Blooming in early Feb. 2012-3
By claren44 from Flickr.com

Flowering Quince (Chaenomeles) lovely around March and blooms a little after Forsythia with blooms of red, pink, apricot and magenta.   However it becomes huge and suckers and has nasty thorns.  We had one and just took it out because it was taking over.  I am sad to see it go, because they are lovely in early spring.

Buttercup winter-hazel / Corylopsis pauciflora / 日向水木(ヒュウガミズ…
By TANAKA Juuyoh (田中十洋) from Flickr.com

Winter Hazel (Corylopsis) blooms at about the same with beautiful yellow droops.

20110523_WoodlandKlager_DoublefileViburnum_Cutler_P1120310
By wlcutler from Flickr.com

Various Viburnums bloom in early spring.  Double File Viburnum (Viburnum plicatum f. tomentosum) blooms in April with double rows of white flowers and has deep red fall foliage.  I had one of these in my previous home.

Oso Berry, First To Bloom
By born1945 from Flickr.com

A Pacific Northwest native, Indian Plum (Oemleria cerasiformis) is used ornamentally and flowers in late winter (late February or early March) with beautiful white droops.  You can often see them in the tree understory in the woods here or in people’s yards.  I had a volunteer in my previous home.

Winter flowering honeysuckle, Winter honeysuckle
By brockvicky from Flickr.com
Winter Flowering Honeysuckle (Lonicera fragrantissima – Zone 4-8), flowers in mid winter and is very fragrant.
Camellia~ Frankie Winn (3) Camellias (Cameillia Japonica and Sasanqua – Zone 8-10) flower in reds, whites, pinks, oranges and yellows beginning in late fall and going through mid winter.  Some of them become enormous growing into trees, while others prune obediently into an espalier.  Much to my regret, I have none.
Pussy willow (3)
By where paths meet from Flickr.com

Pussy Willows (Salix discolor – Zone 4-8, flower around March with pretty, fat catkins.

Japanese Flowering Cherry 'Mt. Fuji' {prunus serrulata}
By Drew Avery from Flickr.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Also, Flowering Cherry (Prunus spp. – Zone 6-9), which we have a lot of, bloom with white, pale pink and darker pink blooms very early in March and sometimes February.  We had one at my work that began flowering in December and sent out blooms until March.

snow drops
By johnjones from Flickr.com

Then come an array of bulbs which bloom in late winter or early spring.  Some of those that may even push up through the snow in January or February are Snowdrops (which bloom with white droplets),

Crocus
By tejvanphotos from Flickr.com

Crocuses (Zone 3-8) (which bloom with a rainbow of purple, white, yellow, mauve, pink and blue) and

 

Another winter aconite
By Andreas. from Flickr.com

Winter Aconite (Eranthis cilicica – Zone 3-7, which blooms yellow).  These are followed by the rest of the spring bulbs, such as Daffodils and Tulips in spring.

Primrose
And some of my favorites are the Primroses (Primulas), that are usually offered for sale on New Years Day here, although I found them last year in December at a nursery.  They come in every imaginable color.  They can be planted in the ground, but I like them in a pot by my front door.  I am hoping to find these soon.
I hope that this may give you some ideas regarding Winter Interest In The Garden and Winter Blooming Plants.   In general, I start finding some of these Winter Bloomers in the nurseries around February, but that may not be true where you live.  Unless the ground is frozen solid, you may still be able to plant some of the bulbs.  They may or may not bloom next spring, but should the following year.
What are some of your Winter Bloomers?

26 Replies to “Winter Interest In The Garden”

    1. Beth,

      Thanks and thanks for stopping by. I love having the winter bloomers to brighten up the garden. Hope you have a wonderful week.

      Yael

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  2. All your plants are wonderful but I particularly love the Corylopsis. I do have one although it is stingy with its blooms. I am on the edge of its hardiness zone. Still, I look forward to whatever blossoms it throws out in spring.

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    1. Hi Layanee,

      Glad you came by. I think Corylopsis are beautiful. I don’t actually have one myself, but I have admired them. So beautiful in late winter. Hope you have a wonderful week.

      Yael

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  3. I’ve never seen anything like those purple berries. So pretty! The crocus photo is making me want to go and plant my lawn in crocuses. Too late for this year, but i might just have to do that next year1

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    1. Hi Kateri,

      Thanks for coming by. My Beauty Berries are particularly showy this year. I too love that color…almost iridescent. Hope that you have a good week.

      Yael

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  4. Wow, I love all your pretty late bloomers. The first flaming red flowers are beautiful. Lovely photos, thanks for sharing. Wishing you a happy week ahead!

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    1. Hi Eileen,

      Thanks and thanks for coming by. I only wish that all of these lovelies were mine. The mosaics are mine. The single photos are on a wish list.

      Yael

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    1. Hi Kim,

      Thanks and thanks for coming by. I really love winter bloomers and wish I had more. Hope that you have a wonderful week.

      Yael

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  6. I can see your climate is way warmer than ours. I love the colour of the Beautyberry Bush. I have seen them in a garden in Toronto but they could not survive here. Valerie

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    1. Valerie,

      Thanks for stopping by. You might be surprised. A few of these will survive as cold as USDA Zone 3 (I think Toronto is about Zone 4 or 5). Of course, they would likely bloom later than here (Oregon Zone 7-8)

      Yael

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    1. Hi Gunilla,

      Thanks for coming by. We are having our first snows now. Nothing much, but there is a thin layer on the rooftops. Cold outside….just around freezing. I would like to see more of the white stuff if I didn’t have to drive. Hope you have a wonderful week.

      Yael

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  8. What a great tour of your almost winter garden. We sometimes forget how much color can be found in the winter garden. And some plants have such tremendous structures. Many years ago When I was a serious gardener I dedicated all my space to raised beds–so easy to maintain and work so well.

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    1. Hi Faye,

      Thanks and thanks for stopping by. There really can be a lot of interest in the winter garden, even when it is dried out grasses and dried plants with seed heads. I stopped cutting my grasses down in fall last year and really love having the remains of my grass through the winter. Then to have things that bloom is a real bonus.

      Yael

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  9. Oh, my garden is covered in snow so I loved this post! The hummingbird shot was fabulous. Love, love those purple berries and that Camellia, WOW! Thanks for sharing with Share Your Cup.
    Hugs,
    Jann

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    1. Hi Jann,

      Thanks. I was really amazed that I got that hummingbird shot. The purple beauty berries are some of my favorites. Thanks for having your blog party where I can share.

      Yael

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    1. Hi Pam,

      Thanks. I couldn’t believe that I had captured the wings in motion when I saw it. Hope you have a great week.

      Yael

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