Add Colour to your Winter Borders

16 November 2020 By Tash Ellens

When winter comes things in the garden start to slow down, but there are still a few jobs you can be getting on with, especially before the temperatures drop and the soil begins to freeze.

Add Colour to your Garden this Winter

Whilst you may have started planting up your spring flowering bulbs such as tulips, hyacinth and irises, you can also introduce a bit of colour into the garden and greenhouse now to brighten up the next few winter months.

For beautiful winter flowers, purchase an established Christmas rose (hellebores) to plant out into your garden or plant up in pots now.
A winter clematis such as Clematis paniculata is a wonderful climber that produces a delicate blossom in January – for it to thrive, just ensure it is in a sheltered area and protect it in the greenhouse if there are strong winds or temperatures drop below -5°C.
Winter Pansies are an easy way to add a little colour to our borders, you can also plant them above your bulbs so that come spring you’ll have a new flourish of colour – just remember to check the soil isn’t drying out so the plants don’t starve.
Mahonia has bright yellow flowers and glossy green leaves, it’s easy to grow and tolerant of most conditions and it’s popular with those winter-active bumblebees.
For a bit of joy in January, you’ll want to plant snowdrops before the end of November. They are the first bulb to flower, and are beautiful in clusters along pathways and borders.
Daphnes are a late winter bloomer and fantastic for small gardens. They work well in window boxes and large containers, bearing shades of red and pink small flowers.

Once you’ve worked on your garden borders, you’ll be able to keep your hands busy sowing early seeds in the greenhouse. We’ve got a number of ways you can enhance your winter growing environment, including LED Grow Lights and compact heaters.

Growing Winter Vegetables

At the end of October we were joined by Sarah Wain for a live webinar to learn about preparing your glasshouse and garden for winter. Sarah shared her favourite vegetables you can grow in the greenhouse and cold frames over the next couple of months, so you can still enjoy fresh produce. She also shared her top tips on protecting your plants from pests and keeping your greenhouse clean and preparing it for an exceptional growing season next spring. You can catch up on Sarah’s webinar.

Tags: winter gardening, border colour, winter colour