After the bright, vibrant landscaping you’ve enjoyed during spring, summer and fall, it can be challenging to accept winter’s traditional bleakness. But no longer do you need to! With plenty of colourful shrubs available, adding some curb appeal to your winter gardens can be easily achieved.
Try planting one (or more) of the following four shrubs to enjoy a colourful winter garden this season.
Camellia
With its glossy green leaves and vibrantly coloured flowers, the winter-blooming variety of Camellia adds instant brightness to winter properties.
Choose from specimens that have white, coral, pink, yellow, red or even multi-coloured flowers. Blooms can reach five inches across, creating an attractive floral display from late winter until spring.
Depending on the variety chosen, Camellia can resemble trees or shrubs. Known for being a slow grower, tolerant of low light and easy to maintain, Camellia enjoys a shapely habit ranging from dwarf to large and spreading.
Firethorn
Pyracantha, commonly called firethorn, is a low-maintenance evergreen adorned with bright golden, red or orange-red berries. Best suited for partial shade to full sun, firethorn grows 3-20 feet tall and 6-15 feet wide.
Known for its versatility and beauty, the shrub is easy to grow and is often used as a hedge. Due to its thorny nature, it’s best to use this shrub in low-traffic areas.
Although Firethorn’s leaves may turn green-brown in fall and winter, its bright berries provide seasonal interest.
Beautyberry
Callicarpa (or beautyberry) is a deciduous shrub that offers a striking contrast to winter’s dismal landscape. Featuring glossy, purple berries in the winter, the shrub also flowers in late summer in colours ranging from pink to purple.
Although preference is for full sun, the shrub can also thrive in light shade (although may end up spindly). Easy to maintain, beautyberry does not require fertilization and is drought resistant.
Great for attracting wildlife and insects, beautyberry grows 6-9 feet tall with an equal width. During late fall, their leaves turn colour and fall to the ground, eventually leaving behind purple berries. The harsh tasting berries are frost resistant and last until late winter when birds have started to run out of other food sources.
Red Twig Dogwood
Also known as red willow or red osier dogwood, red twig dogwood is a 4-19 foot tall deciduous shrub that grows in moderate to full sun. When summer turns to fall, its bright green bark, twigs and leaves become a deep red colour. After its leaves drop in the fall, the beautiful, rich colour of the dogwood’s stems are left to beautify the winter landscape.
Other varieties include Golden-twig Dogwood, which features yellow stems instead of red and Winter Beauty, which has multi-coloured stems including orange, red and yellow. Regular pruning is required to maintain the colour of the stems throughout winter.
When it comes to adding colour to your winter gardens, we can help. Since 2011, we have been creating functional, beautiful landscaping designs for Hamilton area residents – no matter the season! Let us do the same for your property! Contact us today for a quote.