Today, we welcome back Jennifer Johnston, SB friend and writer. She’s on a quest to bring some joy to her winter garden, ASAP, and is sharing everything she’s learned.
Jennifer:
Late winter can be a bleak time in the garden. Leaf clean up and mulching aren’t much fun for most of us. Martha Stewart may enjoy oiling her tools and ordering from seed catalogues, but I find myself with nose pressed to windowpane, longing to get my hands dirty in the soil and see new life in the yard.
To help break up those winter doldrums, I went searching for suggestions for plants that can light up the garden, even on gray, bitterly cold days. Read on to find out when to start planting this year!
I turned to an old friend of StyleBlueprint, landscape architect Tara Armistead, along with Evelyn Allen of The Secret Garden, and Joy Boven of wholesale Samara Farms. They responded to the call for three great winter plants with enthusiasm, so we’ve included some runners-up as a special bonus. Pour yourself a cup of hot tea, turn on the sun lamp and prepare to sharpen your garden spade. Maybe it’s time to buy that new pair of garden gloves and a new pot or two.
PinTara has been enamored all winter with the newest addition to her garden, the oriental paperbush (Edgeworthia chrysantha). The silky, winter-white flower buds last for months, followed by fragrant, pale yellow flowers in late February or early March. It’s easy to force the branches into early blooms indoors, much like the flowering quince and forsythia that many gardeners love to bring indoors for a burst of late winter color. Photo credit: www.plantsystematics.orgPinWitch hazel (Hamamelis x intermedia) is another perennial favorite for Tara. These shrubs can grow up to 12 feet high and provide fantastic fall color with spidery blooms of gold continuing into late winter. Tara likes the Arnold Promise which flowers yellow and looks best in a woodland setting. The Diane variety (seen in this photo) provides a pop of red bloom — gorgeous against a clear, blue wintry sky. Photo credit: Joy Boven, Samara FarmsPinCamellias (Camellia japonica) tolerate the cold well with beautiful dark leaves in winter and colorful blooms in early spring. Try Korean Fire or April Rose in Nashville’s climate. I have two in large pots on my front porch that have bloomed steadily through three winters. Photo credit: longislandcamellia.blogspot.comPinAlso on Tara’s list: Lenten rose (Helleborus orientalis). Royal Heritage and Ivory Prince are her recommendations. Photo credit: plantlust.com
Three more plants to add to your list that Tara likes:
PinSoft Caress mahonia (Mahonia eurybracteata) for beautiful texture and color. Photo credit: Goingtoseedinzone5.comPinButtercup winter hazel (Pauciflora) Photo credit: Steve Bender dailysouth.southernliving.comPinand a dwarf variety of sweet bay magnolia discovered on the Cumberland Plateau called Sweet Thing (Magnolia virginiana). Photo credit: ponsetilandscaping.com
Of course it’s not as easy as buying the plants and sticking them in the ground. It helps to have the help of a good landscape architect, designer, gardener or even good advice from the folks at your nearest garden center. They can provide expertise on everything from placement to mixing colors and textures to proper soil, fertilization, and watering.
Evelyn Allen of The Secret Garden has a deep knowledge of plants but she also looks to the sun, the stars, the moon, the tides, The Farmer’s Almanac and anything else she can get her hands on to know when and where to plant. (I believe in her methods because she accurately predicted the wet, mild August last summer). Unlike Punxsutawney Phil, the famed groundhog who predicted six more weeks of winter this year, Evelyn says that despite the bitter midwinter cold, we can expect a mild late winter, meaning plants can go in the ground as early as late February or early March.
Evelyn is a joy to work with as a gardener because she simply loves to bring happiness to a garden. She is a plant whisperer, studying the yard throughout the day to gain a sense of where each seedling will thrive. A large installation is her favorite project but her team will also swoop in for fall and spring clean up. A few of her winter favorites:
PinCoral bark maple (Acer palmatum) features distinctive red bark that brightens up the winter landscape when everything else is gray and brown. Small purplish flowers put on a show in spring. Photo credit: Evelyn AllenPinThis coral bark maple is a poster child for winter cheer on a rare sunny day, living happily in a planter while a white-flowered camellia blooms against the brick wall and winter grasses and bottlebrush yews provide interest closer to the ground next to the patio. Photo credit: Evelyn AllenPinEvelyn loves to blend winter grasses into gardens for a beautiful, soothing effect, like soft waves breaking over water. A favorite is the Sweet Flag variety of Oborozuki (Acorus gramineus). The lime-green variegated foliage provides sunlit pops of color for the yard and the lush plant produces a tangerine-scented oil that has been used in perfumes. Photo credit: en.paperblog.comPinHer go-to winter perennial is the Palace Purple variety of coral bell (Heuchera micrantha), which look incredible at a garden’s edge in juxtaposition with bright green or yellow grasses. The burgundy foliage lasts all winter, and Evelyn often places it in pots with lime-green sedum. Photo credit: garnersferry.com
Joy Boven of wholesale Samara Farms works with gardeners such as Evelyn to seek out hard-to-find varieties as well as the usual winter favorites such as hollies with bright red berries that burst with color in the snow. Here are some of her favorites for a winter garden:
PinLimelight hydrangeas (Hydrangea paniculata) – One of my favorites, too. This shrub has bright, chartreuse blooms all summer and into fall when they take on a pink cast. Photo credit: deborahsilver.comPinIn the winter, the dried flowers can be taken inside or left on the bush to enjoy from the back porch on warmer days. Photo credit: gatsbysgardens.blogspot.comPinFlorida Sunshine anise (Illicium parviflorum). This small, scented shrub has chartreuse gold foliage during the spring and summer with leaves that brighten to vibrant yellow in midwinter while the stems, seemingly embarrassed by such a show, turn a vibrant red. These plants need light shade so they won’t scorch. Photo credit: Joy Boven, Samara FarmsPinVariegata yucca (Yucca gloriosa). The creamy, bell-shaped flowers are reason enough for this plant in summer, not to mention they are hardy in hot weather and love sandy soil where other plants don’t thrive. They are showy and almost sculptural in winter with spiny, long, colorful leaves of yellow. Photo credit: gardensandplants.com
As soon as the ground begins to warm in late February, it will be safe to plant. Until then, bundle up and enjoy some walks in the beautiful parks around Nashville when trees become sculptures against the backdrop of the winter sky.
“When walking in the woods in early spring,” says Tara, “I am most excited to find the ephemeral wildflower, bloodroot, in bloom. The flower is a stunning snow white among the brown leaves of winter and its leaves curl around the stem like a bashful lady. Look also for the woodland spicebush blooming yellow, which is attractive to swallowtail butterflies.” Bonus: Scratch it to release a wonderful fragrance.
PinSB Cofounder Elizabeth Fox walks the Nashville parks religiously several times per week, no matter the weather. Here she is with Ann West and Chrissy Hagerty on an early morning walk, in search of warmer temps and something green.Thank you, Jennifer, for this burst of sunshine on yet another cloudy and cold Nashville day!
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