Most of my gardening at the moment consists of staring out
of the back window looking at everything being watered by the relentless rain.
My water butt is overflowing this week so it’s not all bad. The water table
will be topped up too which is a good thing after the dry autumn. In times such as this when it’s too wet to
garden, we can enjoy the glorious colour of some winter delights. There are
plenty of plants that produce colourful effects in winter.
By thinking about plant form, foliage and colour, we can
include colourful stems too.
Even in small gardens, we can make more impact with seasonal
planting by grouping plants in borders or areas rather than having it dotted
about the garden. These warm corners can be enjoyed from indoors as we sit in
front of the fire.
Creating Colour
Although at first it seems an impossible task, creating
colour and interest all year around in a garden is an achievable project-with
some careful planning.
In the spring it’s easy to create colour with the use of
bulbs and spring flowering plants such as forsythia and dicentra, however as
the year progresses the two most difficult times to produce colour are between
late December to late January. One idea would be to plant flowering plants
nearer to the house, this will help to give the impression that the whole
garden is still flowering rather than just two or three choose shrubs or
plants.
Winter Shrubs for bark
colour
Here are a few ideas for beautiful bark colours. You might
see other types of bark on your travels and as you start looking you will
realise just how much colour there is in nature at this time of year!
Cornus sanguinea
'Midwinter Fire'
A robust, low-maintenance cornus is well worth growing for
its wonderful, vigorous layers of orange, red and yellow stems. It is
fast-growing but with a compact habit to about 1m (3ft), making it suitable for
home gardens.
Prunus serrula
(Tibetan cherry)
This small tree carries white blossom in spring and bears
yellow foliage and red berries in autumn, but it really comes into its own in
winter when the bronze, peeling bark shines like silk against a blue winter
sky.
Acer griseum
(paperbark maple)
This beautiful medium-sized tree brings 'wow' factor to the
garden with its papery orange/red bark that peels back to reveal an irresistibly
smooth surface beneath. It is a real garden all-rounder, because the tree also
has wonderful autumn colour and grows slowly, making it suitable for smaller
gardens. It can also be grown as a multi-stemmed specimen.
Tasmannia lanceolata
(Australian pepper)
This underrated Chilean species is seldom seen in gardens.
Given some shelter from the wind and coldest areas it is one of the most
beautiful evergreens. In a sheltered spot with moist soil it can grow quite
large in time, but on our sandy soil it is very slow growing. Enjoy its red tipped stems which are subtle
but beautiful.
Cornus alba Baton
Rouge ('Minbat')
Dogwoods have always been popular and here’s a new kid in
town. Since 2007 when it was first introduced from France, Cornus alba Baton
Rouge ('Minbat') has established itself as the number one red dogwood. Selected
for its slightly more compact, bushy habit but still attaining a height of 1m
(3ft) or more C. alba Baton Rouge ('Minbat') offers not only fabulous winter
colour but has white flowers in spring, blueish-white berries in late summer
and a striking display of reddish-purple foliage in autumn.
Acer tegmentosum
(snakebark maple)
This is one of the best snakebarks for stem colour with
superb jade and silver striated bark, complemented in winter by striking
mahogany coloured buds. The stem colour is good even on reasonably mature
stems.
Very hardy, but best in a position sheltered from strong
winds (as it also has very attractive large leaves and good autumn colour).
Ideally the stems look best in a sunny spot but against a dark backdrop, where
the silver really stands out. A. tegmentosum works in most soils but does not
like ground which is too wet or waterlogged, which wouldn’t really suit most
gardens around Inishowen at the moment.
Betula albo-sinensis
(Northern Chinese red birch)
Slightly larger than Acer griseum, this birch is distinctive
in its marvellously coloured peeling bark. Tolerant of a range of soils, it
grows up to around 20m (nearly 66ft).
There are a number of cultivars available and the tree may
be grown to equally good effect as an individual or, like many birch species,
as part of a group if sufficient space is available.
See more here: RHS
See more here: RHS
