The winter solstice is upon us, and I am sure everyone is looking forward to a bit more light each day, eventually steering us towards the great annual awakening of spring. To most gardeners, the idea of year ‘round interest is top of mind, as patrons I speak to year after year look to add specimens into their landscapes that provide that “WOW” factor all year long, including over the winter. With plants, this can of course be a personal preference thing, but the point is simply this: the variety of hardy plants that pop in the winter is both varied and surprising, including broadleaf evergreen shrubs.
Let me begin by dropping a couple of disclaimers… First, I am by no means a proponent of an entirely evergreen landscape. We need our deciduous plants just as much, not only to provide fall color but also to add nice branching, bark colors, and admirable winter silhouettes in our landscapes. Secondly, conifers (which we will continue to discuss another time) provide not only year around colors in many shades of green, yellow and blue, but also textures and variable growth habits. Both of these types of plants are essential for a well-balanced garden, and after mixing in our favorite perennials and other garden goodies, we have a successful landscape full of variety and interest for all four seasons.
Variegation is fascinating as just about every plant has a variegated form or cultivar. It may be splashed, striped, or more subtle, and usually adds either white, cream or yellow onto typically green leaves. Why not consider adding a variegated form of a plant in lieu of its more common version? We have green everywhere (which is a good thing, don’t get me wrong), but a splash of color goes a long way. Here are some great choices to consider…
Euonymus: Need full sun, drought tolerance, and low maintenance? Then flavors like ‘Blondy’, ‘Gold Splash’, ‘Silver King’ and many others provide ease to any gardener’s world while poppin’ with some serious foliage color.
Rhododendron: Yes, these are common in our climate, but have you seen variegated options like ‘President Roosevelt’, ‘Goldflimmer’, ‘Superflimmer’ or ‘Silver Edge’? All Rhodies are nice spring bloomers, but now you can also add in foliage interest too.
Azalea: The silvery-white variegated leaves on flavors like ‘Silver Sword’ and ‘Girard’s Variegated Gem’ are quite nice in part shade to part sun areas, and they still look just as spectacular as others in bloom each spring.
Pieris: Modern versions of these early spring bloomers are more compact, sport striking variegated foliage and bright new growth in spring. Check out ones like ‘Flaming Silver’, ‘Passion Frost’, ‘Passion Party’, and ‘Little Heath’.
Aucuba: If you have deep, dark shade and don’t like to water much, the bright yellow variegated leaves on flavors like ‘Mr. Goldstrike’, ‘Sunny Dayze’, Picturata’ and others are perfect for you and hard to beat in our area.
Fatsia: Big in size and bold in variegation, Aralias like ‘Spider Web’, and ‘Camouflage’ are excellent choices for dry shade gardens and provide maximum year-long interest.
Daphne: Superior forms of winter Daphne like ‘Maejima’, Marianni’, ‘Banana Split’ and others have both exquisite foliage and nice fragrant flowers in late winter. Use these for morning sun locations with good drainage.
Another route is to simply go bold with gold, or often actually yellow. Some may think golden foliage plants look like they need some food, but this gardener would disagree vehemently. Most of my own landscape has dabs of yellow all throughout it, including golden forms of Japanese Holly, Mexican Orange, Osmanthus, and others. This is all about contrast to me – a basic principle of landscape design that can highlight both foliage color and size.
As we cool off in fall, many useful shrubs turn color for the winter and do not drop their leaves. My advice here is to consider your varietal options when choosing a new shrub, as many choice flavors of typical shrubs can extend the seasons of interest for your landscape. Here are some options worthy of any gardener’s consideration…
Azalea: Many excellent cultivars like ‘Maraschino’, ‘Girard’s Fuchsia’, and ‘Johanna’ change to an intense burgundy red color in the cold, while also producing the expected spring flower display in part sun to part shade locations.
Nandina: These love sun and are super drought tolerant, with foliage color that intensifies over the fall and winter to bright red tones, especially on tidy dwarfs like ‘Cool Glow Pomegranate’, ‘Obsession’, ‘Tuscan Flame’, and ‘Gulf Stream’.
Leucothoe: Yet another useful shrub for part sun to part shade areas that sports great foliage all year, but especially over the winter. Varieties like ‘Scarletta’, ‘Little Flames’, ‘Rainbow’ and others turn a striking red to burgundy color through the winter.
Rhododendron: I simply love the Rhododendrons that we call ‘PJM’ types, all exhibiting smaller leaves and one special trait, fall and winter color. Some older foliage turns red/orange/yellow in autumn and drops, but the majority of the growth remains and turns a rich burgundy to mahogany hue for the cold months, returning to green come springtime when flowering starts.
If you desire smaller, border-size horticultural gems, don’t forget about simple evergreen perennials and brightly colored evergreen grasses for winter color and additional textures. Coral Bells (Heuchera) can be found in any color of the rainbow for sun or shade, keeping their presence nicely in both pots and the landscape throughout the year. Pigsqueak (Bergenia) is an oldie but goodie, with large elephant ear leaves in rich red to burgundy hues over the winter months. Grasses produce wonderful motion in breezes and unique textures. The best winter bloomer, the Hellebore (or Lenten Rose), will be up for discussion next week, including some lovely variegated forms.
Keep in mind that even in these darker days of winter, there are still plants shining in the garden. Stop into your local garden center and speak with a Certified Professional Horticulturist about any of these wonderful plants, and any others that may catch your eye. Don’t just think of spring and summer flowers, but rather consider foliage as well and what visual excitement is left for you as a gardener to enjoy over the winter. When all of the deciduous plants have dropped their leaves and the perennials have died back, what is left? Try looking to useful evergreen broadleaved plants to add some foliage color to your landscape. Not only will they perform well spring through fall, but they can also provide some needed winter presence in your garden too.
