Look out, what do you see?
Colour from your window or just the dull browns and greens of a winter garden?
Winter doesn’t mean dull and boring. There are plants to provide winter interest and early spring bulbs are all in flower now.
Here at Chopwell, we love to see what our clients have in their gardens as their winter focal points, plants that make their hearts sing as they look out on a wintery day.
Warwickshire climate and soil make plenty of options available and our favourite shrubs at this time of year which we see regularly in local gardens include
Evergreens
- Camellia, if grown sheltered from early morning sun they are coming into flower, ranging from white through pink and red
- Variegated evergreens including holly and euonymus. They can come in white and green or yellow and green varieties. These leaves are vibrant now
- Skimmia another evergreen shrub, easy to grow, shade tolerant, is covered in red flowers
Some plants are at their best in winter
These include
- Winter flowering Jasmine is covered in bright yellow flowers
- Winter flowering Viburnum is a mass of pink on bare stems
- Witch Hazel will be a mass of flaming orange
Early Spring bulbs
These are coming into flower, heralding the start of spring and include
- Aconites, there is an amazing display at Compton Verney near Wellesborne at present
- Snowdrops, Hill Close Gardens in Warwick is famous for them
- Crocus, see lots in local parks such as St Nicholas in Warwick and Jephson Gardens Leamington.
- Hellebore, Christmas and Lenten Rose are plants rather than bulbs, and are in full flower, ranging from white to dark purple with many shades, including spotted petals. If you cannot see the flowers, cut off old leaves to allow the new stems to poke through.
All these plants are easily grown and suit any size of garden. In the dark and cold of January and February, improve your mood with colour from your window.
