If you are planning to landscape your garden or terrace at this time of year, you should choose seasonal plants that can withstand low temperatures and harsh weather and, most importantly, that flower in the heart of winter, adding a lovely touch to the dreary landscape.
Some plants we could choose for our garden at this time of year are:
Winter jasmine:
Winter jasmine is a deciduous jasmine that flowers in winter, producing small yellow blossoms, though without the characteristic scent of other jasmines.
Because its shoots are long, it can be supported to cover a surface of your choice, or simply left to hang down.
Flowering quince:
Flowering quince is a striking deciduous shrub that blooms profusely in the heart of winter. Although some species have trailing shoots, it usually grows in a rounded shape. Its best-known colour is red, but you can find varieties with white, orange or pink flowers. It does not grow taller than a metre and a half, and it can be planted on its own or in groups. If you put its flowering branches in a vase, you will create a beautiful decorative feature for the home.
Forsythia:
The abundant blooms, shape and vivid yellow colour of this deciduous shrub make it one of landscape designers’ first choices. The different sizes of forsythia varieties give us plenty of options for the layout we want to create in our garden. It is usually planted on its own, but the smaller ones can also be combined with other plants. Its flowering branches make equally lovely decorations for vases around the house.
Wintersweet:
Although wintersweet flowers spectacularly, this deciduous shrub has been forgotten by Greek plant nurseries.
It has a rounded shape and fragrant yellow flowers that look like small stars. Plant it on its own in the garden, or in small clusters among other plants.
Erica or heather:
Heather, or erica, is an evergreen shrub found in many varieties. Those that bloom in the winter months have small flowers in a vivid pink or fuchsia.
It prefers to be planted in acidic soil and can be used as ground cover, since most of its species do not grow taller than fifty centimetres.
Camellia:
The familiar camellia is a lovely choice both for the garden and for pots on the terrace. It grows upright and reaches two to three metres in height. It should be placed where it is sheltered from direct sunlight, strong winds and frost. It is therefore best to plant it among other plants in the garden or, if it is in a pot, to keep it somewhere well protected. We should not forget to water it regularly.
Dogwood:
Dogwood is a deciduous shrub with vivid red branches in the winter months. It grows upright and can reach two metres in height.
Its flowers are white and appear in spring. It is an undemanding plant that can be planted on its own, in groups, or even combined with other plants.
Mahonia:
Mahonia is an evergreen shrub of interest both for its spiny leaves, which turn reddish in the winter months, and for its flowers, which appear in February or March.
It is around a metre and a half tall, grows upright and has yellow flowers.
Text: Eleftheria Spantidaki
