OK folks, here’s the deal: There isn’t a day that goes by that a customer doesn’t come into my garden center and ask me how they can achieve year-round interest in their garden. My reply is always the same. “Come to the garden center once a month, buy something that looks interesting to you, and in 12 months you will have year -round interest in your garden”.
To make this as simple as possible I have decided to give you a monthly list of plants I think you should have in your garden to avoid boredom. I call them my Boring Yard Busters, or BYBs for short. Here are my recommendations for January.
Winter blooming bulbs: These are my harbingers of spring. Crocus, snow drops, winter aconites, pushkinia, chionodoxa and grape hyacinths are just a few examples of bulbs that start blooming in January and continue into February. These little bulbs naturalize easily and will return for many years without any effort on our part. Unfortunately, you need to buy these in the fall so make a note to do so this coming October or November.
Perennials: At the top of my list are hellebores. Christmas rose, Lenten rose, Corsican hellebore and all the new hybrids on the market are tough to beat for durability and reliability. They bloom from December into April and rarely need dividing. Grow them in a place that has sun in the winter and shade in the summer. Hardy cyclamen is another perennial that blooms either in the fall or the dead of winter, depending on the variety. Cyclamen coum or Cyclamen hederifolium are usually both available this time of year. Coum has white to pink blooms and several variations of foliage colors. This is a truly delightful plant. For evergreen perennials, my all-time favorite is the common Bergenia cordifolia and its many variations. Bressingham ruby is stunning in January and February with its glossy, ruby-colored leaves that are followed with spikes of pink flowers in March or April. Everyone needs at least one bergenia in their gardens and the best part is that they will grow almost anywhere you plant them.
Shrubs: Sarcococca is an absolute must for the Northwest garden. This evergreen shrub or ground cover needs to be in afternoon shade to look its best. The flowers come on in January to early February and have intense fragrance. Winter daphne is another evergreen shrub with unsurpassed fragrance. Several deciduous shrubs are winter standouts, too. Viburnum ‘dawn’ will bloom from November until April with light pink fragrant clusters of flowers. Buttercup winter hazel has soft yellow flowers later this month. If you can’t wait, then try the true witch hazel which has been in bloom for a month already. It comes in yellow, orange and red but I think the yellow is the best for both visibility and fragrance. And don’t forget the red twig dogwood for its sparkling red stems in winter. Mid-winter fire (also known as winter flame) has twigs that start out yellow, modulate to orange/coral and finish at the tips in red. This is by far my favorite twig dogwood.
Clearly, there are plants that I have missed but if you try a few of the above selections you will be well on your way to the elusive “year-round interest” goal that we all lust for.
Steve Smith is owner of Sunnyside Nursery in Marysville. He can be reached online at info@sunnysidenursery.net.
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