More Than Just A Winter Garden

Gardens can be beautiful in winter if you choose your plants wisely, says The Early Show's gardening expert Charlie Dimmock. It all starts with planning.

You may think the gardens in the winter are dead and without much color but Dimmock says you may be surprised.

Consider what the plants can offer, especially if you have a very small garden. At the Sir Harold Hillier Gardens, Dimmock points out the
Prunus serrula. "It has a lovely mahogony bark that's all papery and peely, but during the spring it gets covered in fantastic white flowers," she says.

The ghost bramble (Rubus lasiostylus) is also a really good plant, she says because in winter it has lovely white stems, in summer it has white flowers, and in the autumn, it has yellow, edible fruits.

Shrubs are dormant at this time so consider planting them; they are unlikely to be upset by the transition. Muss is what Dimmock recommends, just know the plant is prone to aversion, meaning bits of the plant goes back to plain green and slowly the plant will end up one color. Check inside the shrub, Dimmock says, to find the colors that will take over in the spring.

Evergreens are also good plants because they give you structure all year round. Hollies are some of the best because they come in "fabulous variations; then in the winter you get the berries, which attract lots and lots of wildlife," Dimmock says. Just look for dead leaves and remove them to give your garden a tidier look.

And one of the most beautiful plants Dimmock recommends is the winter flowering camellia which has a range of colorful, strongly scented flowers, contrasted against a rich, glossy, dark green leaf.

Here are Dimmock's suggestions for a beautiful winter garden:

Structure and Shape – Make the most of grasses. Dimmock says they have a fantastic form in the way they spurt up to the sky and they also wave around in the wind, which gives a lovely sound and effect.

Color - During the winter with the light levels low, colors look much stronger, so consider planting black grass contrasted with white green of the hellebore. And there are lots of stems in reds, greens and purples.

If you want to add more color to your garden,flower plants to consider are witch hazel and hamamelis mollis (Chinese witchhazel), which bloom, no matter what the weather, Dimmock says. It comes in a range of colors from bright yellows through copper to reds.

"Flowers at this time of the year might not be really showy, but one thing about them is they often have a really strong scent," she says, advising gardeners to consider the shrub honeysuckle (lonicera).

Texture - Barks of trees and shrubs also add a lot of interest to the garden. One of Dimmock's favorites is birch with the beautiful silvery papery bark, she says. Plants with fantastic stem texture are: willow, salix elethro flexosa.

Maintenance - If you have herbaceous plants, winter is the best time to divide them since they are dormant. A reason to do this is to make more plants.

If you have stakes around trees in your yard, this is also a good time to check they are firm and the tree ties are not choking the plant. And if you didn't prune your roses in the autumn, Dimmock says you really must do it now. Here are her suggestions: