Get To Know... Plants for Autumn or Winter Colour
Bring colour and interest to your garden all year round.
Autumn and Winter gardens can be vibrant and simulating, with the right plants in place.
Changing Seasons
As the evenings draw in and the temperature drops, you'll spend less time in your garden, but if you pick the right plants, you can enjoy colourful displays throughout autumn and winter.
Plants that bring colour and interest to the garden in autumn and winter differ from those you will have enjoyed in spring and summer because they won't tend to be as bright and colourful - bear this in mind when deciding where you want to plant them. Focus on areas of the garden you can see from the house or that you pass every day.
Liriope muscari
Bedding plants, such as violas, pansies and cyclamen, are great for adding vibrant winter colour to pots and hanging baskets.
Pots, Containers and Hanging Baskets
Bedding plans, such as violas, pansies and cyclamen, are great for adding vibrant winter colour to pots and hanging baskets. Follow the 'thriller, spiller, filler' method of planting for maximum impact:
- Thriller: the focal point of your display - for autumn, choose brightly-coloured heathers or vibrant green mini conifer.
- Spiller: plant trailing plants around the edge of your container - trailing ivy is a great evergreen option for autumn and winter colour.
- Filler: fill in the gaps in borders or beddings with bedding plants such as cyclamen or violas.
Pink Cyclamen and Purple Pansies
Planting Tips
When planting your containers, put a layer of spring-flowering bulbs below your beddings plants; these will pop up in spring bringing fresh new colour.
Shrubs for Autumn or Winter Interest
- Viburnum: the pretty flowers on these plants have a wonderful scent; pick a couple of stems and bring them indoors to enjoy the fragrance.
- Mahonia: with berries for wildlife, this glossy-leaved shrub will produce bright yellow scented flowers from late autumn into winter. Check the Mahonia x media 'Charity'.
- Sarcococca: a great hardy evergreen shrub that benefits from beautifully-scented flowers in winter, followed by vibrantly-coloured berries.
- Hellebore: also known as the 'Christmas Rose,' they have fascinating flowers in various colours that will last through to spring. Read more about our Hellebore Heaven.
- Cornus: also known as dogwood, as the leaves fall, it is the vibrant orange/red stems on these plants that are the attraction in winter; planted in groups, they are pretty spectacular.
- Heathers: these come to life in the winter months with their fabulously bright foliage; they are easy to grow in most positions and are evergreen, providing year-round interest.
- Acers: their show-stopping bright orange/red leaves make them one of the most eye-catching plants in autumn.
- Skimmia: these evergreen shrubs are precious for their multi-season displays - especially in autumn and winter. Their flower buds, often in attractive colours, are held throughout winter, and winter berries are long-lasting.