December Garden Picks: Recommended Flowers and Plants Chosen by Lead Gardeners
Winter Gardening: A Palette of Colour, Structure, and Christmas Wreath Materials
Winter gardens can be a vibrant and beautiful sight, with a variety of plants providing colour, structure, and materials for traditional Christmas wreaths. Here are some of the best options to consider:
Hellebores (Lenten Roses)
These evergreen perennials bloom from late winter to early spring, offering charming flowers in white, pink, burgundy, amber, and even black shades. Their leathery, evergreen foliage adds structure year-round, making them ideal for winter gardens. Hellebores are deer- and vole-resistant, spread nicely, and thrive in moist, well-drained, partially shaded soils. They are excellent for adding early winter colour and are widely used in wreaths for their long-lasting blooms and foliage.
Mountain Laurel
Featuring evergreen foliage and delicate pink or white bell-shaped flowers that emerge from deep pink buds, mountain laurel provides year-round structure and colour.
Camellias
Evergreen shrubs with glossy dark green leaves and rose-like flowers that bloom late winter through early summer, camellias offer sustained colour and sophistication. Blooms range from large to modest sizes in white, pink, red, and even rose forms. Their glossy foliage and flowers make them ideal for winter garden structure and holiday wreaths.
Forsythia
Not evergreen, but worth noting as it bursts into bright yellow blooms on bare branches in late winter, providing a dramatic early-season colour splash. Its flexible branches are often used in wreath-making for their striking yellow flowers.
Dusty Miller
Though it blooms in summer, Dusty Miller is prized for its silvery-gray foliage which brings excellent texture, colour contrast, and structure to winter garden compositions and wreaths.
Evergreens like certain ferns and hostas can also contribute structure and greenery for winter gardens, especially in shady areas. Their foliage textures complement flowering plants and can be incorporated into wreaths.
Summary Table of Key Plants for Winter Color, Structure, and Wreath Use
| Plant | Winter Color | Structure | Wreath Use | Growing Conditions | |----------------|------------------------|---------------------------|----------------------------------|------------------------------| | Hellebores | Burgundy, pink, white | Evergreen, leathery leaves| Long-lasting flowers & leaves | Moist, well-drained, part shade| | Mountain Laurel| Pink, white flowers | Evergreen foliage | Evergreen greenery + flowers | Acidic soil, sun/part shade | | Camellia | Rose-like flowers | Glossy evergreen leaves | Showy flowers + foliage | Morning sun, afternoon shade | | Forsythia | Bright yellow flowers | Bare branches | Flexible branches for wreaths | Full sun, early bloom | | Dusty Miller | Silvery foliage | Textured foliage | Color contrast in wreaths | Full sun, well-drained soil |
These plants not only bring vibrant colour and structural foliage to the winter garden but also provide excellent materials for traditional Christmas wreaths, combining decorative flowers and evergreen elements that last through the season.
If you are specifically looking for plants that thrive in the shade during winter, Hellebores and some evergreen ferns or hostas are highly recommended.
- The winter garden can be a vibrant and beautiful sight with plants like Hellebores, Mountain Laurel, Camellias, Forsythia, Dusty Miller, certain ferns, and hostas providing colour, structure, and materials for Christmas wreaths.
- Hellebores, with their charming flowers in various shades and evergreen foliage, are ideal for winter gardens, thriving in moist, well-drained, partially shaded soils.
- Mountain Laurel, with its evergreen foliage and delicate pink or white bell-shaped flowers, offers year-round structure and colour.
- Camellias, with their glossy dark green leaves and rose-like flowers, offer sustained colour and sophistication, making their glossy foliage and flowers suitable for winter garden structure and holiday wreaths.
- Forsythia, though it's not evergreen, bursts into bright yellow blooms in late winter, providing a dramatic early-season colour splash, and its flexible branches are often used in wreath-making.
- Dusty Miller, though it blooms in summer, is prized for its silvery-gray foliage that brings excellent texture, colour contrast, and structure to winter garden compositions and wreaths.
- If you're looking for plants that thrive in the shade during winter, Hellebores and some evergreen ferns or hostas are highly recommended, as they provide a good balance of foliage textures and complement flowering plants in the winter garden.
