If the sight of bare trees and dry, brown grass during winter makes you feel a little sad, don’t worry, you can add winter-blooming plants. These colorful plants bloom in winter. They can help brighten up the season.
C.L. Fornari, a gardening expert and writer at GardenLady.com, made a statement about winter plants. Fornari said finding winter plants is not as hard as it seems. With some planning, you can keep your garden lively even in the cold months. Are you ready to find the perfect plants for winter? This article contains some helpful tips that will help you get started.
How to Pick the Best Plant for Your Garden That Blooms in Winter
Here’s how to pick the best winter plants:
1. Pick the Right Plants for Your Area: Before you start choosing plants for your garden, it is important to know what grows best in your region. Some plants can survive cold weather, while others need warmer temperatures to do well in winter. To make sure your plants thrive, check your gardening zone first.
2. Think Beyond Flowers, Especially in Snowy Areas: If you live somewhere that gets snow, you can still add color to your garden without using flowers. Plants with colorful bark or foliage, like red stems or yellow needles, can stand out beautifully against the snow. These will be easier to see than smaller plants that might get buried under the snow.
3. Choose Plants That Bloom in Fall or Spring: Some plants that normally bloom in fall or spring can surprise you by blooming a little later or earlier. They can help you add color to your garden in winter. This is especially true if you live in a warmer area. For example, flowers like hyacinths and daffodils might bloom in late winter. Fall flowers like calendulas can keep blooming into the colder months.
4. Keep Dried Flowers and Leaves in Your Garden: If it is too late in the year to plant anything new, don’t worry. You can leave old flowers and plants in your garden. Dried plants, like the heads of hydrangeas or tall grasses, can still work. They can look really pretty when covered in frost or snow. These natural decorations can make your winter garden feel magical.
Now that we have covered what you need to know before choosing your flowers, below are the various options of flowers.
1. Hellebores
Hellebores are also called Christmas or Lenten roses. They are flowers that grow well in shady places. These flowers are loved for bringing color to winter gardens. They are strong and can survive in many areas across the country, depending on the type.
What makes them special is that their “petals” are actually modified leaves called sepals. These sepals help the blooms stay beautiful for a long time. You can grow them in areas with growing zones between 3 and 9.
ALSO READ: 10 Winter-Ready Container Plants That Thrive Outdoors
2. Snowdrops
Snowdrops are another popular flower for winter. They bloom in February or March and can last for several months. These flowers grow from bulbs that you plant in the fall.
They are easy to care for and will come back every year as long as the soil where they are planted is not disturbed. They grow best in areas with growing zones between 3 and 7.
3. Crocus
Crocus flowers are some of the first signs of spring. These tiny, delicate flowers can start showing up in late February.
They bring cheerful colors like purple, yellow, and white to your garden. They grow well in areas with cooler winters, in zones 3 to 8.
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4. Camellia
Camellias are beautiful plants that can make a plain winter garden look lively. They have shiny green leaves and big, colorful flowers that look like roses.
These flowers can be white, pink, purple, red, or yellow. They bloom during winter in warmer places, in zones 7 to 9. Camellias grow best in shady spots, like under a tree, because they do not like too much hot afternoon sun.
5. Witch Hazel
Witch hazel is not just a natural ingredient used in skin care; it’s also a great plant for a winter garden. These tough shrubs can grow really big. They can grow up to 30 feet tall and have beautiful yellow flowers that look like tiny eyelashes.
These flowers bloom in the fall and keep going through the winter. They grow best in areas labeled as zones 3 to 9.
6. Pansies
Pansies are colorful flowers that can bloom all through winter in warmer places. In cooler areas, they add color during late fall and early spring.
Some special types of pansies, called “winter” or “ice” pansies, can even survive in frosty weather. They grow best in areas labeled as zones 4 to 10.
7. Winter Jasmine
If you want your garden to look amazing in winter, winter jasmine might be the perfect choice. You can grow it as a bush or a climbing plant.
The climbing types can stretch up to 15 feet long. It has bright yellow flowers that stay around all winter.
8. Winter Heath
This plant keeps its green leaves all year. It blooms in pink, cream, or white as winter ends.
It only grows about a foot tall, so it can stick out even if there is snow. A fun fact about this plant is that it is related to a plant called Scottish heather.
9. Alyssum
This is a common plant that grows for just one season. It is also called Lobularia. It has tons of tiny white flowers. There are also some types, like “Snow Princess,” that even bloom during the colder months.
Each plant is suited to grow in specific areas, depending on how cold it gets where you live.
