Color in the Winter Garden

Linda R McMahan, Ph.D.

Horticulturist and Botanist

Oregon State University Extension Service

COLOR IN THE WINTER GARDEN

Expected & Familiar

Bracket the Season

Stars of Winter Bloom

Small Pleasures

Lesson from China

Oregon Native Plants for Winter

Beware Invasive Plants

EXPECTED & FAMILIAR

Hardy cyclamen (Cyclamen coum), blooms winter & early spring—leaf patterns carry garden interest through other seasons

EXPECTED & FAMILIAR

Early spring bulbs signal the end of winter

Snowdrops (Galanthus) and crocus

EXPECTED AND FAMILIAR

Hellebores (Helleborus) of many kinds bloom even earlier!

EXPECTED AND FAMILIAR

Winter daphnes such as Daphne odora ‘Marginata’ http://oregonstate.edu/dept/IDplants

OTHER FAVORITES

Photos: Forsythia, Camellia japonica, Erica http://oregonstate.edu/dept/ldplants

BRACKET THE SEASON

Watch winter’s approach with colorful foliage and berriesPreview spring with a succession of bulbs and early bloomers

Ginkgo biloba & lungwort, Pulmonaria ‘Sisinghurst White’

FALL COLOR

Catsura tree (Cercidiphyllum japonicum)Photo: Linda McMahan

Japanese stewartia (Stewartia pseudocamellia) photo: http://oregonstate.edu/dept/ldplants/

LATE BERRIES & SEEDS

India currant (Symphoricarpos arbiculatus)

Seeds of a single flower Peony

Iris foetidissima, grown not for the flowers (usually pale blue) but for the persistent winter berries

STINKING IRIS

Orange berries of Iris foetidissima

PIERIS JAPONICATraditional, tough, evergreen shrub, drought-tolerant, colorful new foliage and early flowers-many cultivars available

FLOWERING QUINCE

Full size or dwarf Chaenomeles are early spring bloomers photo: http://oregonstate.edu/dept/ldplants/

THE STARS OF WINTER BLOOM

Focus on flowering shrubs

Create possibility of flowers

every day of the year

WHITE “FORSYTHIA”

Abeliophyllum distichum, Fragrant blooms very early spring, multi-stemmed shrub to 5 ft

SWEET BOXSarcocca confusa planted in a sheltered location, survives our Western Oregon winters and emits a strongly sweet fragrance from white flowers, followed by black berries

http://oregonstate.edu/dept/ldplants/

SASANQUA CAMILLIA

Camellia sasanqua, a less-known, smaller evergreen camellia, blooms in December. Can be trained to a trellis. Cultivars with white, pink and red flowers. Open habit.

WINTER HAZEL

Corylopsis spicata and C. pauciflora (inset). Elegant deciduous shrubs, 6-8 feet, fragrant blooms early spring.

http://oregonstate.edu/dept/ldplants/

WITCH HAZEL

Hamamelis species and cultivars, many types with different blooms and bloom times. Some also have great fall color.

http://oregonstate.edu/dept/ldplants/

WINTER JASMINE

Jasminum nudiflorum, as the common name suggests, is strongly fragrant. Trailing habit good for slopes, may need support http://

oregonstate.edu/dept/ldplants/

FRAGRANT WINTERSWEET

Chimonanthes praecox, another fragrant addition to the winter garden

http://oregonstate.edu/dept/ldplants/

ARTHUR MENZIES MAHONIA

Mahonia x media ‘Arthur Menzies’ From a seedling selected at Seattle’s Washington Park Arboretum

http://oregonstate.edu/dept/ldplants/

SMALL TREASURES

Look carefully at plants you

already have

Winter garden reveals nature’s

flow

NEW CONES ON CONFERS

Conifers often produce tiny male and female cones beginning in late winter—discover the cycles in your garden

LEAF SHAPES & SKELETONS

Maple leaves in frost

Decaying magnolia leaf with vein patters

TINY MOSSES SHINE IN DAMP COLD OREGON WINTERS

EVERGREEN LEAVES OF OREGON GRAPE BACKLIT BY THE SUN

Berberis nervosa

FALLEN CONES

Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii)

LICHENS In winter, lichens on trees swell with the additional moisture

FERN FRONDS In late winter, fern

leaves (fronds) begin to unfurl creating fantastic patterns-bracken fern and sword fern shown

BARK TAKES CENTER STAGE

LESSON FROM CHINA

USE GARDEN ART AND INNOVATIVE SCULPTURE

OREGON NATIVE PLANTS FOR

WINTER

Red flowering currant, Ribes sanguineum, blooms Feb/Mar in shades of red, pink, and white, attract hummingbirds

COLTSFOOT

Petasites frigidus at the McMinnville Public Library

SPRING QUEEN Synthyris

reniformis blooms March in Western Oregon—delicate native wildflower

SNOWBERRY Symphorocar

pus albus provides winter food for birds

SILK TASSEL BUSH

Garrya elliptica from Oregon South Coast provides elegant drooping flowers in Jan/Feb. Large evergreen shrub

OSOBERRY

Oemleria cerasiformis, the earlier native shrub to bloom in our forests

A FINAL THOUGHT!

Please Avoid Invasive Species

Look for alternatives in

GardenSmart Oregon—free and

available for download at:

http://oregoninvasiveshotline.org

ENGLISH HOLLY

Substitute with other Ilex such as winterberry or Meser Reserve holly shown below

Meser Reserve holly, Ilex x meserveae

Winterberry, Ilex verticillata

Bottom photos: http://oregonstate.edu/dept/ldplants/

Photo: Linda McMahan

THANK YOU!

Linda R McMahan, linda.mcmahan@oregonstate.eduPhotos by the author unless noted. Others used by permission of Pat Breen, Oregon State University--published at http://oregonstate.edu/dept/ldplants © Oregon State University 2011. You may use this publication freely for educational purposes. For other uses, please contact the author