Color in the Garden thru Fall and Winter
Popular plants such as, Camellia japonica and Camellia sasanqua, cyclamen, pansies, mums, petunias and snapdragons, are great this time of the year as they bring us colorful flowers, but it can be difficult to keep color in the Fall and Winter garden.
How about introducing wildflowers in the garden such asters and wild ageratums?
Grasses such as pampas grass and muhlygrass can bring color, texture and movement to the garden.
Plants with colorful leaves and bracts should not be overlooked. Some of these include succulents, pointsettias, oakleaf hydrangea for fall color leaves. Shrubs like cleyera, azaleas and loropetalum offer colorful leaves in cold weather.
There are many trees and shrubs such as bald cypress, Japanese maple, crepe myrtle. ginkgo, Grancy Graybeard, redbud, to name a few that should be considered for their colorful leaves and blooms.
If the flowers or leaves aren’t colorful, consider plants/shrubs and trees with berries such as hollies, nandina domestica for its red/green leaves and clusters of red berries in fall and winter, pyracantha with evergreen foliage and red/orange berries.
While it may not be practical to incorporate many of these plants in our gardens, using these plants as potted plants can be useful to change the entire feel of a garden. Portable plants offer splashes of color and interest in many a otherwise boring garden.
If you aren’t able to add plants to your garden, how about colorful furniture and artwork? Use colorful crafts such as birdhouses, wreaths and swags. Painted pots can offer color and excitement to any garden.
submitted by Karen Blackburn