Even when the weather’s gloomy, your garden can look wonderful. Winter is also a great time to look at the structure of your garden and plan improvements as the structure of plants and landscaping are clearer to see.
A successful garden should have a good structure. Adding hard landscaping can link areas and make the garden more usable. A wall or paving with intricate detailing may add interest when many of the plants are dormant. Garden features such as a statue or pergola or arbour can make striking focal points in a winter garden too, especially when crafted from beautiful timber, or painted a vibrant colour. You could consider growing an evergreen flowering climber over the pergola.
Evergreens and seedheads
Evergreen plants are particularly useful where unattractive boundaries or buildings need to be obscured or to add year round privacy. A balance of these in the planting will help add structure once other plants have faded and can give a backdrop to winter planting. Viburnum Tinus has small clusters of white and pink flowers, and Sarcococca is highly scented. Other winter flowering evergreen favourites of ours include hellebores and camellias. Topiary can also look great in winter and their sculptural shapes don’t need to be large to be effective.
Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash
Ornamental grasses and perennial seedheads also look attractive, especially when sprinkled with frost. Grasses also add a dimension of movement and softness to a border. Plants with colourful stems can come into their own in the winter season. The colourful bark of Cornus, also known as dogwoods, can create a stunning display. Some shrubs flower during the winter on bare stems too – and these flowers are often beautifully scented.
Container gardening is also an easy way to add uplifting seasonal colour to the garden landscape. Interesting foliage forms and colours may be combined with a few winter flowers to good effect. Position these around windows and doors where you can see and enjoy them.
Go bare in winter
Winter’s the time to plant bare-root trees and shrubs. Bare-root plants are supplied without pots or soil, which makes them lighter, cheaper, and easier to transport. Without plastic pots, they’re also a more sustainable choice. Some of our favourites at Artscape include ornamental trees, fruit trees, hedging plants, roses, and shrubs for topiary such as yew and box. Mature trees and hedging as bare root or rootballed specimens can cost less than container-grown varieties. Another advantage of bare-root plants is that they don’t need much watering to get established and should quickly put on strong root growth. Container-grown plants, on the other hand, can tend to confine their roots to the compost they’re in, rather than extending out into the garden soil.
Clever Visuals on Unsplash
Also, when you invest in garden furniture, select all-weather pieces that will look attractive year-round. Perhaps set around a fire pit or chiminea to create a welcoming scene to look at when you’re indoors. Cushions can be stored and brought out in the warmer months.
Plan and plant a spectacular winter garden with Artscape
Artscape horticulturalists, landscapers and garden designers work all year to develop beautiful planting schemes and exciting landscape improvements, so do get in touch with us and share your plans. From planting new trees to building a garden pergola or laying a new lawn with turf, we’re here to help you with your winter garden makeover project, so please get in touch with us today.
Read more: Don’t wait till spring. Get your garden landscaped in winter
