By Lorraine Kiefer As winter approaches we often think about how the garden will look when all the leaves and flowers are gone. I like to know that there will be some color here and there such as Christmas rose, holly berries,red or gold twig dogwood, winter sweet or witch hazel. Wintersweet, Chimaonanthus is already full of buds in...
By Lorraine Kiefer
As winter approaches we often think about how the garden will look when all the leaves and flowers are gone. I like to know that there will be some color here and there such as Christmas rose, holly berries,red or gold twig dogwood, winter sweet or witch hazel. Wintersweet, Chimaonanthus is already full of buds in my garden. The flowers are an unexpected delight at the end of December or mid January.
Since Chimaonanthus spends most of the year unnoticed we often forget it is there. but in January delicate flowers have the best scent of any flower.
But, as I wrote in last week's column, green is one of the most important colors in the winter landscape. Evergreen plants look brilliant on sunny days and add some cheer on cloudy days. There is nothing prettier than snow against the green.
There are evergreens called conifers that have needle-like foliage such as pines, spruce, arborvitae, junipers, and cypress. There are also needle foliage plants with colorful berries such as cedar, junipers and yews.
Then there are the broad leaf evergreens such as boxwood, rhododendron, laurel, nandina, holly, Mahonia and aucuba. Some of theses have berries too. Aucuba is popular because of its large shiny evergreen leaves, which are often variegated. These usually have shiny foliage that glistens on sunny or wet days and adds some sparkle to the garden.
Evergreens are not only pretty in the landscape, they are useful. They block wind when planted on the north side of a house and also offer shelter for birds. I always see birds roosting in the cedar near our feeder and know that many also roost in the large evergreens surrounding the yard. Flocks of cedar waxwings visit the holly in February, as do robins. So beside green these plants afford song and movement in the way of colorful birds.
A few evergreens that can grow in the shade are the boxwood, Mahonia, aucuba and nandina. I have all in my yard and use them for flower arrangements as well as focal points. All of the above have shiny foliage and the nandina, Mahonia and aucuba have berries.
A fragrant plant when in bloom and one that does well in deep shade and that is a great winter evergreen is the Mahonia. It is hardy to zone 6 where it will bloom in late winter. I have often used the fragrant yellow flowers for my flower show presentation on fragrant blooms early in March. The yellow blooms become grape like clusters of blue berries later on in the season, which is why the plant is nick named grape holly. This plant thrives in shade or partial shade in moist, well-drained soil. It is very easy to grow.
It took me a while notice and appreciate this plant. We moved a large old mahonia shrub from my mother's yard many years ago. It thrives underneath trees in our shady front border. We forgot all about it until one March day I noticed a wonderful fragrance in the air; it was in full golden bloom, covered with dozens of big yellow clusters of bloom. Over the years the mahonia has grown and become even more beautiful with time as it glistens in the shade. As it grows it sends out horizontal leaves in tiers. These leaves are holly-like and prickly.
Another shrub that I love in my front border is nandina, a shrub with shiny, mostly evergreen compound leaves that often go from a youthful coppery/purplish red to deep green in summer and then often back to red or burgundy in late fall and winter. Gleaming bunches of shiny red berries set like luxuriant clusters of jewels among the leaves are awesome from this time of the year till about March when the birds discover them.
White or pinkish buds open in spring to white blooms that are less than 1/2-inch size but grouped in large 8-15 inch panicles or clusters much like lilacs. The more blooms the more colorful display of berries to follow when the blooms turn to spectacular clusters of red berries that ripen from September to October with their biggest show being holiday time through the early spring.
Mahonia is a fragrant plant when in bloom and one that does well in deep shade. Of course the evergreen boxwood are valuable to me for holiday decorations and centerpieces. We trim them in November and December to make boxwood trees and wreaths. They are such an undemanding shrub when grown in the shade. We've never given these shrubs any special attention and they are very dependable. They are strong, undemanding plants that thrive it in a shady spot where you need an accent.
Jumpers are good for hot sunny spots. They are tough and will survive with little or no care once they are established. Often times we get poor opinions of these attractive plants because they are just thrown in some commercial landscape and never weeded or trimmed. Some of the rug junipers are among the most useful and carefree plants there are in a sunny well drained spot. They are wonderful when you need the right plant for the right spot. I once saw a commercial landscape where azalea and rhododendron were planted all around a bank parking lot. The heat from the asphalt and the lack of water during the summer was turning them all a reddish brown. By fall they were dead. This was a place where blue rug or garden juniper would have flourished and made a carefree hardy bed of evergreens.
Remember, like people not all evergreens are created the same. Some like sun, some like shade, some like well drained and others like moist soil. So be sure to find out the needs for any evergreen before you plant it. Work on creating an interesting winter pallet in your garden.
A free plant talk will take place at Kiefer's Triple Oaks Nursery in Franklinville on Dec. 13 at 1:30 p.m. in the plant loft. Please RSVP at 856-694-4272.
Lorraine Kiefer is the owner and operator of Triple Oaks Nursery in Franklinville. She can also be reached by e-mail at Lorraine@tripleoaks.
