GARDEN LOOKERS TO COLOUR YOUR WINTER WORLD
A variety of plants bloom through the cold months, many in sequence, a few at a time
After viewing the amazing and inspiring garden displays at the Northwest Flower and Garden Festival earlier this month, it’s hard not to get excited about the many trees and shrubs that provide stunning winter colour.
There’s a great selection available in many garden stores. Although they are a touch less hardy than many of our more traditional spring- and summerflowering trees and shrubs — many are rated zone six and seven — they are tough enough for most areas of the Fraser Valley, the Sunshine Coast, Vancouver Island, and the Gulf Islands.
The milder the climate, the better the opportunity is to enjoy the widest selection of all these winter beauties. They appreciate the warmest, sunniest spot you can give them during the cold winter months, a location out of the harsh prevailing winter winds. Thanks, however, to the cooler temperatures, their blooms often last longer — some up to three or four months — which is particularly nice at this time of year when we need a garden uplift.
Perhaps the longest flowering and toughest of the lot is viburnum Pink Dawn. Depending upon the fall weather, Pink Dawn will often begin opening its pink buds in October and carry on blooming through the winter until April, when any buds not yet open burst into a massive display. It’s a clever plant because its blooms open in sequence, a few at a time. If the weather turns very cold, the open flowers may freeze off, but when normal winter temperatures return, Pink Dawn goes back into bloom. Growing between 2.5 and three metres tall, it makes a great backyard plant, and is much more productive in a sunny location. It’s no slouch in the fall either, as its small green leaves turn a deep burgundy-scarlet.
Stealing the show right now are the Chinese witch hazels (Hamamelis), with their intoxicating perfume and their tiny spidery flowers that bloom prolifically on older growth, creating a lovely display. A dark yellow variety, Hamamelis mollis, is the most well-known, but the softer varieties like H. Pallida and H. Arnold Promise have a certain elegance. The orange varieties, such as H. intermedia Jelena, are beautiful but can get lost in winter landscapes unless you plant them close up. The most sensational is H. intermedia Diane, which boasts striking crimson-orange flowers that make any winter garden come alive. There is a stunning purply-pink variety, called Amethyst, but it is hard to find.
Most hamamelis varieties grow about three to four metres tall and, like Pink Dawn viburnum, perform best in sunny locations. The fall colour of their hazel-like leaves is amazing, turning beautiful shades of red and orange.
Another Chinese native, Edgeworthia chrysantha, has lightly perfumed, round five-centimetre flower heads that are a true delight. Most are yellow, but some red varieties are available. It is on the smaller side, growing only about two metres high. A little more tender, it prefers areas rated zone seven and higher, and although it will tolerate light shade, it prefers sun.
To my knowledge, white forsythia does not exist yet, but we call Abeliophyllum distichum a white forsythia because of its similarity. A wonderfully fragrant plant, it blooms usually in February and March in sun or shade. There’s also a variety called Rosea that is a very soft pink. At VanDusen Botanical Garden in Vancouver they’re grown in the shade, but the plants are much more compact in full sun. Growing only one to 1.2 metres tall and wide, they’re a nice small shrub with small glossy leaves in summer.
Lonicera fragrantissima, a member of the huge honeysuckle family, is a variety that blooms at this time of year with pure white, intensely fragrant flowers. I find its foliage is very resistant to the many fungal diseases affecting other shrub honeysuckles; this one is clean all season. The primary reason, however, for planting it is the beauty it brings to your garden in February and March. A medium-sized plant, it grows up to two metres, and is very attractive when kept in a nice shape.
You don’t see the buttercup winterhazel (Corylopsis pauciflora) in many gardens, and that’s a shame. Although it has no perfume, this charmer is hardy down to zone four, is quite low growing and has an elegant habit. I love its massive clusters of soft yellow flowers.
Its bigger cousin, Corylopsis spicata (spike winterhazel), grows a little more upright to three metres. When its soft yellow flowers hang down, it is truly spectacular. One of the hardiest winter-flowering shrubs, it survives even in the Prairies.
Winter sweet (Chimonanthus praecox) is a highly perfumed Chinese native with spicy scented, translucent yellow flowers that have dark chocolate centres. It takes a few years to bloom, but when it does, the wait is worth it.
One of the most unique winterflowering plants is a dogwood called the Cornelian cherry (Cornus mas). This tree grows up to eight metres and has a profusion of yellow flowers that bloom in February. It’s unique because in August bright red cherries appear that are not only beautiful but also edible, and if that’s not enough, it has superb fall colouring. It’s a gem.
When our winter temperatures bump up to 10 C, our native bees come out of the ground looking for nectar and pollen.
These winter-flowering plants provide both in spades and really help out our pollinators, another good reason to have them in your garden for sequential blooming all winter.