As Garden Designers it is always important to listen to our clients wants. One re-occurring requirement is for our planting design to included year round interest. Winter being the most important as it can really drag on! In times like this, a colourful flower or a sweet scent against a bleak cold day can lift ones spirits.
In order to fulfill our clients wishes we have a host of winter plants we like to use in our Garden Designs. Many of the winter shrubs have beautiful scent to attract much needed pollinators. Sarcococcca being one of them.
Winter Box – Sweetly scented
Throughout the growing season this shrub is a fairly non descript evergreen mound. Come winter, it leaps into its own with a beautiful scent. Clip a small branch and bring it into the house to get maximum enjoyment from it.
If its colour that lifts your spirits then why not try a Hamamelis – Witch Hazel, these come in all the hot colours making you look ahead to summery sunsets and the warm summer to come.
Add warm colours with a Witch Hazel
Something a little more original than the classic snowdrop is the Leucojum also known as a snowflake. These have slightly more present than the humble snowdrop and look fabulous planted in grass beneath trees.
The Snowflake
Other great winter plants we enjoy using in our planting designs are Viburnum bodnantense ‘Dawn’, Chimonanthus praecox, Cornus stems, Daphne bhoula and of course nothing beats a dusting of frost on a Miscanthus head.
If you have a border or garden that is a little lack lustre in winter and needs a redesign. Get in touch with Alitura. We can come and assess the garden and present you with some ideas to bring it back to life.
