Ten plants selected by us to provide winter colour and interest. Any of these plants will withstand the freezing temperatures were’ experiencing.
Mahonia Charity
Mahonia Charity
A superb, architectural, evergreen shrub producing large spikes of yellow, fragrant flowers when most of the garden is bear (from October onwards). The bold spikey abundant foliage creates an excellent backdrop to the flower.
Position: Tolerates Full Shade
Soil: Most reasonable free draining soils are fine, add compost when planting to give the best start.
Rate of Growth: Average
Flowering Period: October to February
Flower Colour: Yellow
Other Features: Striking flowers, can be grown as an impenetrable hedge or as specimen.
Hardiness: Fully hardy
Garden Care: Easy to care for, trim to preferred size in spring. Submerge pot in a bucket of water before planting. Water well during establishment. Add Osmocote type feed on planting and each spring.
Eventual Height: 2.5m
Eventual Spread: 2m
Viburnum Tinus
Viburnum Tinus
A superb bushy dense, winter flowering evergreen with dark green leaves. Pink buds develop freely in late summer opening to flat sprays of white flowers throughout autumn and winter followed by small dark blue-black fruits. A reliable and easy-to-grow variety. Makes a great infomal, flowering hedge. Do not ingest berries or fruit.
Position: Prefers partial shade
Soil: Fertile and well drained soil. Add compost on planting
Rate of Growth: Average
Flowering Period: Late summer through to spring
Flower Colour: White
Other Features: Good evergreen flowering hedge that adds colour to the garden in the winter.
Hardiness: Frost hardy
Garden Care: Submerge pot in a bucket of water before planting. Water well during establishment. Add Osmocote type feed on planting and each spring. Prune and trim after flowering in spring.
Eventual Height: 2m
Eventual Spread: 2m
Dogwood – Cornus alba Sibirica
Cornus Alba Siberica
Dark green foliage, turning red in autumn with heads of creamy-white flowers, which are succeeded by rounded, white fruits, often tinged blue. A deciduous, upright shrub with scarlet young shoots in winter, ideal for flower arrangements and brightening a garden border in winter.
Position: Prefers partial shade
Soil: Moist soil, tolerates wet but not waterlogged grounds
Rate of Growth: Fast
Flowering Period: April to June
Flower Colour: Creamy-white
Other Features: Superb bright red winter stems.
Hardiness: Fully hardy
Garden Care: Cut back hard in spring to encourage bright, new growth. Submerge pot in a bucket of water before planting and water well during establishment. Add Osmocote type feed on planting and each spring.
Eventual Height: 3m
Eventual Spread: 3m
Viburnum – Viburnum Davidii
Viburnum Davidii
A fantastic, evergreen variety with large, leathery, dark green leaves which are decorated with three distinctive, almost parallel veins. It produces small, white flowers which are arranged in flattened clusters at the branch tips in late spring. The flowers are followed by vibrant, metallic blue, egg-shaped fruits which add valuable colour and interest to the garden throughout the winter. It forms a compact, dome-shaped mass of foliage making it suitable for growing in groups as ground cover. A reliable shrub that was introduced from China and has won the RHS Award of Garden Merit.
Position: Prefers partial shade
Soil: A moist, yet well drained, moderately fertile soil
Rate of Growth: Average
Flowering Period: May
Flower Colour: White
Other Features: The fruits are harmful if consumed
Hardiness: Fully hardy
Garden Care: To maintain a neat, dome-shaped habit cut back any straggling stems to the base of the plant. Routine pruning is not required.
Skimmia – Skimmia Japonica Reevesiana
Skimmia Reevesiana
An award winning, Skimmia that bears red berries in later summer and autumn through winter often to spring. Aromatic evergreen leaves and star shaped fragrant flowers. Will berry on its own.
Position: Dense shade
Soil: Moist, fertile, free-draining soil, add ericaceous compost on planting.
Rate of Growth: Average
Flowering Period: Mid to late spring, berries late summer through winter
Flower Colour: White, sometimes pink-tinged
Other Features: Superb berry in autumn, evergreen.
Hardiness: Fully hardy
Garden Care: Water fully on planting and during establishment. Mulch with ericaceous compost and give Osmocote type fertilizer each spring. Prune only to remove damaged branches in spring. Do not ingest.
Eventual Height: 60cm
Eventual Spread: 60cm
Camelia
Camelia
The waxy, perfectly shaped blooms of camellias plant cheer late winter landscapes, opening against dark, glossy green leaves. Thousands of double camellia hybrids offer a large palette of colors from snowy white and bicolors to the deepest coral-red. The upright plants develop into small trees in warm climates. A camellia looks stunning when espaliered against a warm wall; avoid full sun situations to prevent summer-scorched leaves.
Light : Part Sun,Shade
Plant Type: Shrub
Plant Height: To 20 feet tall
Plant Width: To 20 feet wide
Bloom Time: Blooms spring and summer, depending on variety
Landscape Uses: Containers,Beds & Borders,Privacy
Special Features: Flowers,Attractive Foliage,Winter Interest,Cut Flowers
Phormuim
‘Firebird’ is a wonderful new cultivar and will make a striking feature in any garden. Its new leaves are a bright scarlet fading to purple as they age. It needs a sunny, well-drained spot in the garden. This would be an excellent feature plant to position on a corner of a border to provide a focal point.
Phornuim Firebird
Common Name: New Zealand flax
Genus: Phormium
Cultivar: ‘Firebird’
Skill Level: Beginner
Exposure: Full sun, Partial shade
Hardiness: Hardy
Soil type: Well-drained/light, Moist, Sandy
Height: 150cm
Spread: 150cm
Time to divide plants: March to April
Aucuba Japonica
Aucuba Japonica
Genus: Aucuba
Species: japonica
Skill Level: Beginner
Exposure: Full sun, Partial shade, Shade
Hardiness: Hardy
Soil type: Well-drained/light, Clay/heavy, Acidic, Chalky/alkaline
Height: 300cm
Spread: 300cm
Flourishing in adversity, this is a hardy, evergreen shrub that is one of the best for shady positions, even in smoky town gardens. Its glossy green leaves, splashed with gold are guaranteed to brighten the dullest corner and look good all year round. Small, purplish flowers in mid-spring are followed on female plantbw by bright scarlet berries, which often persist from autumn to spring.
Photinia Red Robin
Photinia x Fraseri Red Robin
Common Name: Christmas berry
Genus: Photinia
Species: x fraseri
Cultivar: ‘Red Robin’
Skill Level: Beginner
Exposure: Full sun, Partial shade
Hardiness: Hardy
Soil type: Well-drained/light, Moist
Height: 400cm
Spread: 400cm
Flowering period: April to May
Photinia, or Christmas berry, is a genus of Asian and North American shrubs, which includes a group of evergreen hybrids grown specifically for their colourful young foliage. Most are forms of the garden hybrid P. x fraseri, with glossy dark green adult foliage, and variable red tinted young leaves, especially as they just unfold. ‘Red Robin’ is one, a choice form with eye-catching juvenile growth the colour of sealing wax, similar to a pieris. This is sometimes caught by late spring frosts, and some shelter is advisable. Plants enjoy a sunny or partially shaded position in moist but well-drained soil. The Royal Horticultural Society has given its Award of Garden Merit (AGM) to this plant
Ilex aquifolium
Ilex aquifoluim
Common Name: Common holly
Genus: IlexSpecies: aquifolium
Skill Level: Beginner
Exposure: Full sun, Partial shade, Shade
Hardiness: Hardy
Soil type: Well-drained/light, Dry
Height: 2000cmSpread: 800cm
Time to plant seeds: October to March
Common holly is a useful evergreen shrub that can be grown as a specimen tree, clipped bushes or as a hedge. There are dozens of varieties, many with variegated leaves. Plants are either male or female. Both sexes are required for the female plants to produce their winter berries, which appear from late autumn to mid-winter. The Royal Horticultural Society has given it its prestigious Award of Garden Merit (AGM).
