The Eternal Garden
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Click here before you Send Flowers this winter. 
U.S.A. Winter Garden - a large collection of spectacular trees, shrubs, fruit, & bulbs is here. 
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U.K. Winter Garden |
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U.K. Winter Gardening |
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Bright flowers are best set apart as individuals where they naturally brighten darker areas.
Primroses February 2005 |
Go straight to winter
You can often extend the summer flower season by dead heading.
Trees and shrubs contribute much to winter gardening with rich colors and textures from leaves, berries and textured barks.
Heather Erica carnea these varieties come high on my list of November to May winter flowers. Their foliage shades from green, to bronze and deep yellow.
Autumn into winter flowers, leaves and berries
Let autumn leaves and fruits gracefully transform your garden into winter. Rich leaf colours of gold, orange, red, combine with ornate berries of white, cream, yellow, red and purple. Clean bright stems of Cornus seem to prelude spring while the weathered flaky textures of Acer and Birch bark beautify the decay of winter.Firethorn Pyracantha 4M high 3M spread has bright red or pale yellow berries from August into winter. There's no better Christmas decoration. Use for arching around windows and doorways or as a loose hedge (tight pruning stops berries). Grow with Winter Jasmine.
Winter Jasmine Jasminium nudiflora Another favourite with fragrant bright yellow flowers appearing late November through winter to spring. The attractive green stems can be trained along wires or tied in to trellis to 3M.
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Snowberry Symphoricarpos albus 2.5 M high spread about 3M. Small flowers from July, White or Pink berries from October to February. I was taught that the berries were poisonous. Can be grown as a hedge but spreads by suckers - I plan to grow in a containerized area.
Skimmia japonica 1.5 M Has fragrant flowers in spring, and its red berries last into winter. Varieties can display attractive variagated leaves and red shoots.
Honeysuckle Lonicera fragrantissima Spread 3M. Fragrant flowers Dec - Mar.
Mahonia Small holly like shrub with yellow fragrant flowers in winter.
Mountain Ash Sorbus vilmorinii My favourite ornamental tree for a small garden with height and spread of 5M. Its leaflets turn dark crimson in autumn. Pendulous clusters of berries fade from red to white and last well into the winter.
Coral Bark Maple Acer palmatum Sango-kaku 6M high 5M spread. Foliage turns soft yellow in autumn. Also with attractive bark and red shoots in spring.
Sorbus cashmiriana 8M high by 7M spread. Leaves turn rich russet and gold in autumn and the white berries last well into winter.
Paper Bark Maple Acer griseum Height and spread 10M. Grow with multistemmed habit to display beautiful peeling bark. Autumn leaves display orange to scarlet.
Witch Hazel Hamamelis mollis Fragrant yellow flowers Dec - Feb on bare stems with 4M height and spread. The leaves produce nice autumn colors.
Corkscrew Hazel Corylus avellana 'Contorta' Height and spread 3M. Male plants bear pretty yellow catkins in Feb - Mar. 'Contorta' has twisted stems 'Aurea' has yellow coloured leaves.
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Daphne mezereum a slow grower to 1.2M high 1M spread. Upright stems are clothed by fragrant flowers in Feb-Mar. This shrub really looks forward to spring. Daphne odora 'Aureomarginata' flowers earlier and has decorative leaves. Also poisonous seeds and sap.
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Cotoneaster berries February 2005 |
Autumn flowering crocus can effectively be planted into lawns as their leaves will be close to dying down again by the time the lawn needs cutting.
The flowers have pretty petals as well as attractive stamens and stigma. The dried orange stigmas of Crocus sativus (saffron crocus) were once used to make dye. Unlike the others its flowers don't close again once they have opened.
Autumn and winter species include:-
Crocus pulchellus – Sep – Nov,
Crocus sativus – Sep – Nov,
Crocus speciosus Oct,
Crocus medius – Oct in a sunny site,
Crocus ochroleucus – Oct - Nov,
Crocus niveus – Nov often spoilt by weather
Crocus imperati – Dec – Feb.
"Autumn Crocus" Colchicum These are distinct from Crocus and have more oval shaped corms. The pale pink of their flowers has a ghostly quality in Sept - Nov.
More on spring flowering Crocus soon...
Christmas Rose Helleborus niger 12 - 18" high. Flowers Dec - Mar so you really can enjoy winter flowers in the garden at Christmas.
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Snowdrops Galanthus nivalis In many gardens Snowdrops are the first winter flowers to push through in January. If you're thinking of carpeting an extensive area with them, do remember that there are many varieties. You could try conserving some of the rarer ones. The small differences will add interest to your winter flowers.
Winter Aconite Eranthis hyemalis A late winter flower. Leave to naturalise under shrubs and trees.
More winter flowers coming soon...
Remember, an eternal garden is not about riots of flower color. Instead cultivate a garden that stimulates all perception - scent, texture, taste... Use more subtle color with continual change and occassioinal surprises. Then colorful autumn leaves and berries will do as much as summer flowers to create a splendid looking garden.
Further information on flower gardening
Products for Organic Gardeners are here.BOOKS ON WINTER FLOWERS AND FLOWER GARDENING
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Winter Garden Glory - Adrian Bloom  |
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