Winter Wonderland
There’s no denying it, winter is just round the corner. The frosty mornings, the winter woollies and the sound of Wizzard emanating from every shopping centre and radio station heralds the winter season. But for us gardeners it needn’t mean bare earth and a dull garden. Here are some of our top tips to make sure your garden is still beautiful to look at throughout the winter season, is packed full of winter interest and is truly a Winter Wonderland (even if it does mean looking at it from indoors with a nice mug of tea a lot of the time!)
A fennel seed head provides winter interest
Evergreen plants
There are a whole host of evergreen plants which can provide structure and winter interest in your garden. Some favourites include buxus sempervirens, viburnum, camellia, skimmia, hebe, phormium and rhododendron. Also, grasses are a must for us in gardens. They look great all the year round but we particularly love them when they are frost covered. Our favourites include molinia, stipa tenuissima, deschampsia, libertia and carex buchananii.
Grasses look wonderful covered in frost
Seed heads
Just because your summer flowering perennials have lost their colour, it doesn’t mean all is lost. Many of the plants in a herbaceous border provide wonderful winter interest through their seed heads. Stars in the winter border include foeniculum (fennel), verbena bonariensis, angelica, echinops, allium, eryngium, sedum and hydrangea to name but a few.
Echinops, still looking wonderful in winter
Interesting branches
Some shrubs come into their own in winter. A plant such as corylus contorta (the contorted hazel) is a nice shrub to add form and texture to the garden in summer and the catkins are attractive in spring. But for us this shrub comes into its own in winter when you can see its wonderful contorted branches. Other shrubs which look wonderful in winter include prunus incisa ‘Kojo-no-mai’ and who could ignore cornus stolonifera – the wonderful bright red branches of the dogwood.
Trees
All trees provide a wonderful structure and height in the garden and will add interest in the winter. Some have wonderful bark which will provide additional interest – ones to consider are prunus serrula, acer griseum and betula utilis jacquemontii. All suitable for small gardens and will provide interest all year round.
Trees provide structure in winter as well as somewhere to hang fairy lights!
Berries
Berries are like beautiful gems glowing in a winter garden. While flowers often take a back seat it is time for berries to take centre stage. From skimmia and pyrancathus to ilex (holly) and viburnum there are a plenty of lovely shrubs to choose from. And your feathered friends will be happy too. Remember to plant both male and female holly plants and most skimmias to ensure you get berries.
Winter flowering plants
Some plants flower over winter and are great additions to the garden. These include helleborus, hamamelis, mahonia, cornus ‘Golden Glory’ and viburnum bodnantense ‘Dawn’.
The contorted hazel provides a magical feel to a winter garden
Other interest
Of course gardens aren’t just about plants. A well designed garden will have structure and form which will make it still look beautiful even when your summer perennials have passed their best. Interesting hard landscaping, seating areas, focal points, water features, lighting, outdoor rooms and many more features can be incorporated into your garden to ensure it is interesting all the year round. To read about some of the many focal points you can include in your garden read some of our previous blogs on focal points:
Feature fences and sculpture can provide important focal points in winter
If you need some help or advice on creating your own Winter Wonderland in your garden please get in touch. Or if you want to utilise the winter to get in touch to discuss a design for next year it is the perfect time to get in touch and start the ball rolling.
In the meantime, wrap up warm and have a wonderful festive season.
All at Vialii
Tree-mendous
Hi everyone. Did you know that this week is National Tree Week? Well, now you do! I like trees A LOT and they do lots of good in our gardens. This blog post is all about trees – why they are important, how to plant and water your new trees, ideas for trees suitable for suburban gardens and a little bit about pests (no, not me!) So read on and learn lots of new tree-mendous facts about trees such as planting in a square hole (a round tree in a square hole, whatever next?)…
A plum tree is one of my favourites! Tree-mendous!
Trees are good because:
- You can build a house in them! You can’t argue with how good that is.
- They produce oxygen. A mature leafy tree produces as much oxygen in a season as ten people inhale in a year! Forests also filter the air that we breathe to make it clean. Very clever.
- They add height and interest in the garden.
- They can help buffer wind.
- Of all sorts of other environmental reasons including cleaning the soil and slowing storm water run off
Pleached trees can be a wonderful feature in a garden
So, there you go, lots of good reasons why you should include some trees in your garden. But I know some of you might worry that a tree will grow too tall, block light, create problems with their roots etc etc. Don’t worry, the right tree in the right place is a great addition to any garden. Here are a list of some of the most tree-mendous small trees suitable for suburban gardens:
Amelanchier lamarckii – Snowy mespilis
The amelanchier is a great year round tree. In Spring we are treated to a wonderful display of snowy white blossom. In summer there are purple black fruits which the birds love. And in Autumn the foliage turns a lovely bronze colour changing to red and gold. Even in winter it looks lovely as it provides a nice structure in the garden.
Malus domestica ‘Spartan’ – Spartan eating apple
Apple trees are a great additional to a garden. There are all sorts of different ones on the market, some are eating apples, some dessert, some crab apples. Decide what you want to use your apples for or what aspect of the tree is most important to you such as blossom. Personally I like eating apples straight off the tree! The Spartan is a great apple and I especially love it ‘cos it looks like apples from fairy stories, all dark red, shiny and crisp! Whichever apple tree you choose, check what root stock it is from as this will determine what size your tree will eventually become. A dwarf root stock is best for smaller gardens. Also, check if your tree is self-pollinating. If not, you will need two unless a neighbour also has an apple tree.
I thoroughly recommend having an apple tree in the garden!
Betula utilis jacqumontii – Silver Birch
The silver birch is a great, native tree and will withstand any weather. This silver birch has a wonderful white bark which looks particularly beautiful when it is under-planted with lots of grasses. Whilst not a dwarf tree, in the correct position it will make a wonderful focal point in the garden.
Sorbus aucuparia ‘Fastigiata’ – Mountain Ash or Rowan
A Scottish favourite, in gardens and the coutryside, the Rowan provides beautiful foliage, especially in Autumn, and little can compare to their lovely bright red berries. Many say that an abundance of red berries on a Rowan suggests a hard winter ahead. There have certainly been berries galore this year so let’s see what winter brings. Sledging I hope!
Pyrus salicifolia ‘Pendula’ – Weeping pear
This tree is a favourite for gardeners. When well maintained it can look absolutely beautiful but don’t let it get out of hand or it can be a bit straggly. This pear is just ornamental – maybe that’s why it’s weeping 😉 It only gets to 5m tall so perfect for any garden.
Prunus serrula – Tibetan cherry
Another ornamental fruit tree but this tree is primarily grown for its stunning bark which is a lovely shiny mahogany.
Magnolia stellata – Star magnolia
There are many stunning magnolias out there but be careful as some may not survive cold weather, especially up here in Scotland. We recommend the stellata as it is hardy but is still beautiful with its delicate star like white flowers.
Acers can provide beautiful colour in the garden
Acer palmatum var. disssectum – Japanese Maple
Acers are wonderful trees for the garden and there are so many wonderful varieties to choose from. Some have wonderful bark whilst
others have stunning foliage. Whichever you choose, make sure you plant it in a sheltered spot as they don’t like strong winds or scorching sun. This tree will work wonderfully well in a pot too.
Pests
Planting and Care
So, now you know why trees are important and I have helped you decide which tree would suit you best here are some top tips on how to plant your new tree and look after it:
- This may sound silly but dig a shallow, SQUARE hole for your new tree. Don’t dig any deeper than the depth of the pot the tree comes in as the new soil you add will likely compact and the tree will then subside and they don’t much like that. The important bit is the width so make sure your hole is at least half as big again as the root ball and square is better for helping the tree establish.
- Add no more than 50% of compost/mulch etc. The rest should be the native soil which you have just dug out.
- Secure your tree with two tree stakes and a rubber tree tie. Keep the stakes low so the tree has to work for itself and grow strong.
- At bud-break, if it hasn’t rained for 5 days you will need to water your tree. Add 2-3 bucketfuls of water for an average tree, every 2-3 days.
- If leaves go brown and drop off it is a sign of UNDER watering
- If leaves go brown but DON’T drop off it is a sign of OVER watering
- If you are reducing the size of a tree never take more than a third off at any one time
If you need any more advice on trees, from planting to pruning or removal please get in touch. Remember to read my blogs about Christmas Trees and things to do with leaves in the garden too.
Have a tree-mendous National Tree Week!