A winter garden doesn’t have to be sparse. Color comes in every season. Combine evergreens to create a textural showcase or plant some cool-season annuals to add color late into the fall and in warmer winter areas. Need some inspiration for your winter garden? Scroll on to learn more about this combo of evergreens and flowering heath!
Evergreens are colorful plants for winter
Evergreen foliage comes in a variety of shapes, textures and hues, like the yellow, blue and green leaves here. Whether you have a specimen pine tree, ivy climbing along a wall or a hedge of yews, adding evergreens means you will have color in your garden year-round. Plus, slow-growing dwarf conifers make it possible to plant in small spaces, such as a border or close to the foundation. Where winters are cold and they’re aren’t a lot of bright blooms to choose from, you can always rely on evergreens. The yellow-gold foliage of this golden incense cedar transforms a landscape that would look gray, otherwise. The branch tips take on an intense orange hue in winter, too, making it a great focal point.
Want to get to know different types of conifers? Check out 10 varieties we recommend for your garden here.
Winter interest
Want flowers? Many heaths bloom from winter to early spring. Combine more than one, such as pink ‘Gwavas’ and white ‘Silberschmelze’ to prolong blooming and add different colors. Heaths thrive in moist but well-drained and slightly acid soil conditions. Pine needle and pine bark mulches are good choices if you want to increase the acidity of soil. Look below to take a closer look at this combo and find out more about the plants!
See more design tips in 7 Ways to Use Conifers in the Garden
A) ‘Berrima Gold’ golden incense cedar (Calocedrus decurrens)
Type Tree Foliage Yellow-gold foliage year-round Light Full sun Size 20 to 30 ft. tall, 8 to 15 ft. wide Hardiness Cold-hardy in USDA zones 5 to 9
B) ‘Silberschmelze’ heath (Erica x darleyensis albiflora)
Type Shrub Blooms White flowers from winter to early spring; evergreen Light Full sun to part shade Size 10 to 12 in. tall, 18 to 36 in. wide Hardiness Cold-hardy in USDA zones 6 to 9
C) ‘Gwavas’ heath (Erica x williamsii)
Type Shrub Blooms Pink flowers from late winter to early spring; evergreen Light Full sun to part shade Size 8 to 12 in. tall, 14 to 20 in. wide Hardiness Cold-hardy in USDA zones 5 to 9
D) ‘Pimoko’ Serbian spruce (Picea omorika)
Type Tree Foliage Dwarf conifer with blue-green foliage Light Full sun to part shade Size 2 to 3 ft. tall and wide Hardiness Cold-hardy in USDA zones 4 to 8
