Keep your garden bright when winter’s dreary weather sets in
October 4, 2010
By Contributor
Dreary Northwest winters got you down? What little sunshine braves its way through the clouds does what it can, but we still crave more. “Give us more vitamin D, and color!” we cry, only to be answered by another light drizzle.
Alas, what’s a gardener to do? Cheer up! Here are a few bright and wonderful plants to bring a warm glow to your fall and winter landscape.
Pacific fire vine maple (acer circinatum “Pacific fire”)
With a native vine maple with knock-your-socks-off glowing-red bark that puts coralbark maples to shame, this fast-growing, 6- to 10-foot-tall upright tree makes a wonderful addition to a small yard or entryway in morning sun.
Yuletide camellia (camellia sasanqua “yuletide”)
Attract hummingbirds in the winter with this evergreen shrub that blooms from fall through mid-winter. Bright, fragrant red flowers contrast with glossy, dark green leaves. It makes a colorful hedge, espalier or accent shrub. It’s a moderate growing plant, reaching 8- to 10-feet tall and wide, but it can be easily pruned to restrict its size.
Spider web fatsia (fatsia japonica “spider’s web”)
This Japanese stunner is prized by the few who have had the opportunity to own one. Large, tropical leaves may emerge solid white, but mature leaves are spattered with a bright white spider web pattern (hence the name). It makes a bold statement in a shady spot. No garden? No problem! This beauty makes an excellent houseplant.
Paperbark maple (acer griseum)
The peeling cinnamon bark is almost translucent as it glistens in the winter sun. Fiery-red foliage in fall follows tidy bluish-green leaves of summer. This distinctive tree makes a remarkable specimen for almost any garden. It’s slow growing, reaching 30 feet in 50 years.
Sundance Mexican orange (choisya ternata “sundance”)
Lime-green leaves look fresh all winter on this medium-sized shrub, known for its fragrant white blossoms from spring through fall. Use it in a mixed border, as a foundation plant or in a container. Foliage is also great for fall flower arrangements. It’s 3- to 6-feet tall and wide, and needs sun to part shade.
Digger’s speedwell (parahebe perfoliata)
This is an eye-catching evergreen perennial with bluish-green leaves that resemble those of eucalyptus. Grow this unusual plant at the top of a wall, where you can see its dainty spikes of long-blooming, blue-violet flowers at eye level. This star of my garden shines year-round. It’s a “Great Plant Pick” for the Northwest.
Silver laced corsican hellebore (helleborus argutifolius “silver lace”)
This silvery, sharply toothed evergreen with fine-lace-patterned foliage brings a shimmery brightness to a shady garden spot. Stiff, leathery leaves are topped with creamy green flowers. It’s gorgeous planted with black mondo grass.
Golden Japanese cedar (cryptomeria japonica “sekkan sugi”)
This graceful evergreen has brilliant butter-yellow tips that are almost as intense in the winter as they are in spring and summer. This tree is visually dominant in the landscape, because the foliage shines like a beacon. Temper the brightness by pairing it with gray- or blue-leaved conifers, such as boulevard cypress, or punch up the drama and plant it in combination with purple-leaved plants, such as purple smoke tree or barberry “royal cloak.” Golden Japanese cedar grows 8- to 10-feet tall and 4 feet wide in 10 years.
Heather Bradley is a certified plantsman and garden designer at Newcastle Fruit and Produce Co.
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