By Carol Holden & Gardening on the Cay
Hello Garden Friends!
March is finally here! It sits right on the edge of winter and spring, and that is exciting. If you are like me, you have spent the past couple of months looking out at your yard or patio thinking, “Wow, this looks dreary,” and counting down the days until spring. But it does not have to be that way.
With a little planning now, we can create a winter landscape that is cheerful, colorful, and full of life. By choosing plants that bloom in winter and early spring, next year’s cold season can feel a whole lot brighter.
You might be thinking, “But March isn’t a good time to plant December–February bloomers,” and you are right. However, once April arrives and everything is bursting into color, it is easy to forget how gray and bleak winter felt. That is why now—before spring distracts us—is the perfect time to plan. Take a walk around your yard and decide where you would love to see winter color. Then start researching plants you like and write it all down. When fall comes, you will be ready to plant instead of trying to remember your ideas.
Most winter bloomers need to go into the ground in the fall when the soil is cool enough for bulbs to root and shrubs to establish. These December–February flowering plants push through frost or frozen soil with surprising resilience. Here are some you may want to try:
- Snowdrops – Tiny white bells that bloom in late January and early February. Perennial.
- Winter aconite – Bright yellow, buttercup-shaped flowers. Perennial.
- Hellebores (Lenten Rose/Christmas Rose) – Evergreen perennials with stunning blooms from December through March. My favorite winter flower! They come in red, burgundy, pink, rose, yellow, and white.
- Witch Hazel – A shrub or small tree with fragrant, spidery yellow, orange, or red blooms that appear even in freezing weather.
- Crocus – Perennials that bloom early and return each year. Colors include purple, lavender, white, yellow, and blue.
- Daphne – An evergreen shrub often with variegated foliage and pale pink to white fragrant flowers.
- Edgeworthia (Paper Bush) – A deciduous shrub with very fragrant golden-yellow blooms surrounded by creamy white.
- Camellia – A South Carolina favorite. Choose Camellia japonica for beautiful blooms from January through March/April in shades of red, pink, and white.
As you look around your yard this month and see only gray skies and bare branches, let that be inspiration instead of frustration. This is the perfect moment to imagine what your landscape could look like next winter with a few carefully chosen December–February blooming plants.
Plan now, plant in fall, and by this time next year your landscape can be full of color, texture, and unexpected joy.
Now go get planning!
Happy Gardening from Gardening on the Cay.
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