EASY GARDENING
Choose shapely shrubs with fragrant blooms for the best winter flower power!
December is the perfect time to plant new shrubs. At this time of year the ‘bare bones’ of the garden are revealed as herbaceous growth has died down, and it’s easier to see where the garden could benefit from a shrub or two to add structure and height. Think of it as a little bit like a semi-blank canvas!
A number of shrubs bloom in winter. It’s true that their flowers are sometimes insignificant, but they often make up for it by packing a perfumed punch far above their weight. There’s a reason this happens. It’s because the blooms have to be small and tough in order to stand up to cold, windy weather, so they make up for their diminutive stature by luring insects in with a heady fragrance.
In the case of sarcococca, the flowers are so tiny they’re barely visible, while daphne and viburnum have a delicate grace, forming pretty clusters of tiny pink or golden blooms.
Some shrubs produce flowers on bare branches. Two examples are the fiery, spidery blooms of hamamelis and the intricate waxy yellow bells of chimonanthus.
Evergreen shrubs have the advantage of a fuller shape which can add valuable structure to the garden in winter.
SARCOCOCCA CONFUSA
Tiny white flowers absolutely smother this evergreen, December -March. H: 2m, S: 1m.
VIBURNUM BODNANTENSE ‘DAWN’
Clusters of blooms from November-March on bare stems. H: 3m, S: 2m.
HAMAMELIS INTERMEDIA
After autumn leaf fall, spidery blooms appear December-February. H & S: 3m.
DAPHNE BHOLUA ‘JACQUELINE POSTILL’
Semi-evergreen with pink flowers January-February. H: 4m, S: 1.5m.
CHIMONANTHUS PRAECOX
Yellow and purple flowers on bare stems December-February. H: 4m, S: 3m.
LONICERA PURPUSII ‘WINTER BEAUTY’
Honeysuckle blooms December-March, semi-evergreen. H: 2m, S: 2.4m.
