What's a perennial garden plant that blooms in the winter?
A hellebore! It is an outdoor plant that is shocking to see blooming sometimes in the snow. There are many varieties. They are perennial which means they come back year after year. These are best planted in shady areas, but where they will get sun in the winter, for instance under leafed trees or something of that nature.
What is so unusual about hellebores is that they bloom somewhere between Dec. and March. There are very few plants that do that! One variety is called a Christmas Rose.
These plants usually must be puchased at a nursery. Check out your local nursery for this wonderful family of plants.
Another plant you'll surely want to try is called Sweet Annie. This is actually an annual herb, in the worm wood family.
The seed is very fine and you sow it in direct sunlight in the spring after all danger of frost is gone. Sweet Annie can get up to 6 feet tall. It's fragrance is wonderful!!!
My favorite use for Sweet Annie is in the fall to cut it to the ground and dry it. It can be used as wonderful, fragrant filler for dried flower arrangements, and it can also be bound with fine wire to form a wreath base of its own. Simply tuck in other dried flowers here and there around it and you've got a beautiful dried floral wreath with a fragrance to die for!
Another unusual one is called Kiss Me Over the Garden Gate.
Yes, this really is the name of a plant! It's official name is Polygonum orientale. It's an old-fashioned annual knotweed used for bold effect.
It has large heart shaped leaves and pendulous clusters of small pink flowers.
In rich, moist soil and full sun it can go to six feet tall. Best to sow the seed in fall or early spring where it is to grow.
Lastly another unusual plant to try is the Balloon Flower. These are perennial, meaning they will return year after year. The latin name for these are: platycodon grandiflorus. They are very hardy, durable plants and very beautiful.
Balloon flowers are about the size of a ping pong ball and look like little "balloons". Once they fully open up they split and you can see the center portion and the bloom then resembles a start.
They usually come in shades of purple, pink and white.
Very cute, the plants only get about 2 feet tall. Try one!
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 | Obedient Plant - Miss Manners - $ 15.95 The Physostegia æMiss MannersÆ, Physostegia virginiana, also know as Obedient Plant, has bright white spiked flowers that are 18ö tall and a plant spread of 18-24ö. æMiss MannersÆ blooms from June to September and the waxy, dark green foliage makes this plant a little different from other white blooming perennials. æMiss MannersÆ needs a full sun area but will tolerate some afternoon shade, in well-drained soil. æMiss MannersÆ is not as aggressive as most other Physostegia. Use æMiss MannersÆ in borders, mixed plantings, massed plantings (especially to separate other colors), in large containers or as cut flowers. Try with darker colors such Hemerocallis æLittle BusinessÆ, Platycodon æBalloon FlowerÆ or Veronica æRoyal CandlesÆ. |
 | Balloon Flower - Sentimental Blue - $ 13.95 The Platycodon æSentimental Blue Balloon FlowerÆ, Platycodon grandiflorum, is a low growing perennial with blue, balloon like flowers that bloom in late May until August. (The flowers should be deadheaded to increase bloom time.) The blooms puff up before opening and have a wonderful green foliage. With a plant spread of 8-12ö and a height of 8ö, it is one that should be in every perennial garden. |
 | Balloon Flower - Shell Pink - $ 13.95 The Platycodon æShell Pink Balloon FlowerÆ,Platycodon grandiflorum, is a low growing perennial with light pink balloon like flowers that bloom in late May until August. (The flowers should be deadheaded to increase bloom time.) The blooms puff up before opening and have a wonderful green foliage. With a plant spread of 8-12ö and a height of 8ö, it is one that should be in every perennial garden. æShell PinkÆ should be planted in full sun in a well-drained soil. Use æShell PinkÆ as a cut flower, as a border in a perennial garden, or with Cerastium æSnow in SummerÆ. Platycodon is pest resistant and needs very little care. It is late to come up in the spring, so make sure to mark its location. |
 | Paw Paw - $ 14.95 The Paw Paw tree, Asimina triloba, is a multi-stemmed shrub or small tree with short trunk and rounded top that presents a semi-tropical appearance. PawPaw trees average about 15' in height at maturity. It prospers in moist soils and when placed at the edge of a wooded area as an understory tree. It is recognized by its æsleepyÆ summer foliage and nodding bright purple flowers in the spring. The unusual 3-lobed flowers are followed by a black, edible berry, with a taste similar to banana-pear with a custard consistency. This deciduous trees is growing in popularity largely because of the edible fruit it produces. These highly nutritous oval fruits get 2 to 5 inches long, and turn yellow-orange when ripe. The fruit is an excellent source of vitamins A and C. Two trees are necessary for pollination reasons. Fall color is a brilliant yellow. |
 | Ajuga - Chocolate Chip - $ 13.95 The Ajuga æChocolate ChipÆ, Ajuga x 'Chocolate Chip', is a useful ground cover with short spikes of blue flowers. This Ajuga has unusually narrow foliage of dark green, overlaid with chocolate-brown, forming a very low clump. It is most noted for its dwarf habit and its chocolate foliage. The flowers appear in spring and are 4ö in height with a plant width of 12-18ö. It is not as invasive as most other Ajuga and best-planted 6-9ö apart for a quick cover. Ajuga æChocolate ChipsÆ will do best in a shaded area but will adapt to morning sun. It prefers moist soil with a good drainage but will tolerate moderately dry areas. Avoid soggy conditions. Ajuga æChocolate ChipÆ looks great in rock gardens and in front of borders and in containers. Butterflies and hummingbirds are attracted to Ajuga, not to mention being deer resistant and a low allergen. If one is looking for a perennial ground cover to exceed in a hard to grow shady area, Choclate Chip Ajuga is the way to go. |
 | Leadwort - Plumbago - $ 13.95 The Ceratostigma æPlumbago LeadwortÆ, Ceratostigma plumbaginoides, is a beautiful, fast growing ground cover with dark oval green foliage, turning to dark blue in late summer and early fall. The small blue flowers make this ground cover more unusual than the rest because of its late blooming time. æPlumbagoÆ reaches a height of 10ö and a plant spread of 18-24ö. It can be somewhat invasive (like most ground covers) and should be kept under control. æPlumbagoÆ needs full sun but can tolerate afternoon shade. For best results, plant in a fertile, moist but well-drained soil. æPlumbagoÆ works great at the front of the perennial border, shrub borders, rock gardens, or as an edging plant. It looks wonderful with Achillea æMoonshineÆ and Coreopsis æMoonbeamÆ. |
 | Hibiscus - Eruption - $ 18.95 The Hibiscus 'Eruption', grows to 3' in height and is perfectly names with its explosion of 8" hot pink flowers. It is one of the best bloomers in the Fleming Family of Hibiscus. The oak shaped leaves have purple castings which also make this variety quite unusual. The color of this flower must be seen to be believed. It is best to plant this Hibiscus in a full sun area and it will tolerate most soil types. 'Eruption' looks wonderful with grasses, as a background plant or with Hibiscus 'Fantasia' and Hibiscus 'Old Yella'. (PPAF) |
 | Mimosa Tree - $ 10.95 The Mimosa tree, Albizzia julibrissin, sometimes called Silk tree, was introduced to the United States in 1745 for use as an ornamental plant because of its unusual, attractive and fragrant pom-pom like flowers and interesting fern-like foliage.This deciduous tree is attractive to bees, butterflies, and birds. In gardens this tree grows to 20û30'. Mimosa trees are fast-growing but rather short-lived. It has a single trunk with smooth gray bark. Each bipinnate leaf is made up of hundreds of tiny leaflets coated in white hairs, giving the foliage a silvery cast. In late winter or spring the domed crown is decked in sprays of small, globular, golden yellow flower heads. It is able to survive winter in southern U.S., but flowers better in climates with a longer, drier summer. |
The Winter Garden