In The Cold Of Winter

I feel that there is always a special beauty in a winter garden, especially when the frost is glistening on the plants or if there is a blanket of snow covering the trees and shrubs. It never fails to make the garden seem all the more magical for me.

But how do plants survive when temperatures drop so low and they are covered in snow or frozen by the frost? Snow can actually act as insulation for some plants protecting them from the freezing cold.

The damage snow can do to plants is to break branches or stems with its weight, so if there is snow sitting heavily on a plant then simply brush it off. In harsh weather some plants shut down and become dormant to protect themselves. Many plants will reduce their moisture levels or water movement during the wintertime to help avoid frost damage. Most plants are not resilient to cold weather, so they develop hardiness as the light levels decrease and as the length of days shorten. So a sudden hard frost early autumn or late spring will do more damage to the plant injuring un-hardened tissues.

Underground parts of plants such as the roots, or bulbs, corms, tubers and rhizomes are less resistant to the cold as those parts above ground as soil temperatures do not fall as low as the air temperature. These underground parts of plants also act as storage organs for both food and water supply for the plant. The composition of the food material also helps prevent these organs for being frozen by freezing temperatures.

Some plants, such as alpine plants, have adapted well to growing in harsh cold conditions by growing low in compact or mound form as this helps them to withstand the weight of heavy snow. Plants in containers outside may need some insulation for extra protection, as there is not so much soil around it to protect it.

Slightly tender perennials or shrubs can be given extra protection form the frost with a good layer of leaf mould or a layer of straw packed around the base and steams of the plant. We may not be very busy in our gardens at the moment, but we can enjoy, appreciate and marvel at the different natural qualities our garden takes during these winter month.

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Adding Colour In January

Even in this cold month of January in the gloomy winter season there are plants that can liven up more or less any garden and even make it a flowery, scented and colourful winter wonderland.

One of the first perennial bulbs to pop up around this time of year is the Galanthus plicatus, otherwise known as the Snowdrop. A carpet of Snowdrops with their dainty nodding delicately scented white flowers look so lovely grown beneath trees and shrubs or naturalised in turf.

Another plant worth having in our gardens around this time of the year is the Lonicera, or the shrubby Honeysuckle, with its wonderfully scented flowers. This shrub grows to a height of six feet with clusters of small white flowers and likes a sheltered spot in sun or dappled shade.

The Sarcococca hookeriana, the common name being Christmas Box or Sweet Box, is a useful small shrub for a small garden as it only grows up to two feet in height. This is an evergreen shrub with lovely dark green glossy leaves and clusters of very small honey-scented pink-tinted white flowers and prefers growing in a shady site.

If I had to choose, then I would say that my favourite winter flowering shrub has to be the Chimonanthus praecox, Wintersweet, because of its glorious powerful scent. It also has interesting small waxy-looking yellow flowers and will grow to a height of twelve feet.

Another winter stunner is the Hamamelis, Witch Hazel, which has super, fragrant, spidery, yellow flowers on bare branches and it truly is a good choice for providing winter interest in a garden.  It can be either grown in a shrub, border or as a specimen plant.

An attractive ground cover for winter colour is the Eranthis hyemalis, the Winter Aconite, which is a vigorous spreading perennial. With its attractive round rosettes of leaves with a bright yellow cup shaped flowers in the centre, it will really brighten up any garden that looks a little sorry for itself around this time of the year. Grow this perennial in full sun but under the canopy of a deciduous tree or shrub, so that the soil isn’t too dry during the summer months.

A winter flowering perennial that I adore and think is a “must” for lovely winter flowering interest is the Helleborus niger, which is also known as Christmas Rose. This beauty has white saucer shaped flowers that are sometimes tinged with pink and it flowers from winter to early spring.

The Helleborus orientalis, better known as the Lenten Rose, comes in a variety of interesting dusky colours and flowers from mid-winter through to spring. After the Helleborus have finished flowering, they continue to provide evergreen interest for the rest of the year with their architectural leaf form.  Helleborus prefer a dapple shaded site where the soil doesn’t dry out too much.

So those shady spots in the garden can really come to life with some winter flowering plants to provide colour interest in the garden for winter.

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