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Keep your garden fresh with some winter colour

From the Worcester News, first published Monday 26th Nov 2007.

IT doesn't have to be all doom and gloom as the warm reds, glorious oranges and dazzling yellows of autumn fade into winter.

Many disregard winter as a dead time in the garden, but it need not be. It doesn't need to be colourless or devoid of flowers if you plant thoughtfully, as you can enjoy the bright colours of stems and evergreen flowers, while textures also come into their own in winter.

You may have to look a little harder to find the true beauty of plants, whose attraction is more subtle - but it will be worth it.

You don't have to plant a whole bed of winter interest plants, as it may look a little dull during the warmer months, but a few strategically placed winter-flowering heathers and ornamental grasses can go a long way, particularly if you plant them at the front of borders or in places where they are easily accessible or grouped so that you can see them out of your window in winter.

An easy combination which would stay looking good all year, not only in winter, include Fatsia japonica, Mahonia Charity' and Cornus alba. Backdrops of deep evergreen berberis provide a great canvas for the more interesting foliage shapes such as fatsia in front.

Bold, striking foliage can be provided by phormiums, contrasting wonderfully with bergenias, commonly known as elephants' ears.

Conifers, too, have their place in the winter garden, providing height and structure to the scene. Many are of a moderate size that will cope well with clipping when they reach the height you require.

Of course, winter frost gives many evergreens added attraction, and if you leave some stems uncut in the autumn, the frost will create a white covering over the dead flowers and leaves, which also provide homes for ladybirds and other insects.

Don't worry if some of your plants collapse as they freeze, because evergreens will pick up again and remain unaffected.

Late-season grasses are brilliant for the winter garden, ideally planted through late-flowering perennials. Most need a well-drained soil, although miscanthus and molinias cope well with heavier soils. Their flowerheads look impressive in autumn and continue to be eye-catching throughout winter, making even more of an impact when nearby perennials retreat.

Ponytail grass, Stipa tenuissima, will make the border shine on short winter days with its faded, sun-bleached canvas threads, while S. capillata provides vertical interest.

The king of grasses, however, is miscanthus, which can grow to over 4m (13ft) high depending on the variety. Plume colour can range from wine red to silver white, with different shapes, and they look great with shrubs such as Cotinus coggygria Royal Purple'.

Plant a mid-summer flowering clematis such as Perle d'Azur' to weave itself through the shrub to add interest during the summer months and you will have interest throughout the seasons.

If you want coloured stems in winter, straight-stemmed dogwoods (Cornus) are easy to grow and can produce red or almost black stems. One of the most impressive is the red-barked C. alba sibirica'.

Remember that whether you grow them in a container or the ground, the sun will have to strike the bare stems if they are to shine. Don't hide them away in deep shade.

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