Winter Garden Essentials: Camellias and Flowering Annuals for Hanging Baskets
Many lovely flowers grow at this time of the year and it is just a matter of choosing the right ones. Some that we suggest for the patio in hanging baskets are a variety of mixed winter annuals to add a splash of instant colour. Viola, Pansies, Dia
nthus, stocks, petunias and lobelia all work well in sunny spots, and even in the shade primroses and primulas will thrive. Another suggestion is to add some granules that retain water to potting soil to prevent your hanging baskets from drying out too quickly. A hot tip is if you don’t have any of these you can break up old pieces of floral foam to mix in with it. A Winter garden is never complete, of course, without the ever-popular and stunningly beautiful camellias, but even in Winter, these need to be deeply watered weekly.
Conifers are great for Winter!
Conifers are especially great plants for Winter and grow actively in June and July. Be aware though, that some, like the very popular Gold Crest, need to be correctly pruned and shaped. Low-growing Conifer types, like the Prince of Wales, could also supplement as a ground cover or be planted in containers, but do allow them to trail over the edges. You can also pair them with dwarf purple-red flaxes (Phormium) and the dwarf Nandina Pygmaea, which turns delightfully bright red in winter adding some much-needed vibrant colour!
More hot tips for your Winter Garden
Just a couple more important tips for Winter gardening are…
- Ideally, plant your Winter flowering plants in April or May to bloom in time for winter. Even April is suggested as the perfect time to start prepping for your Winter garden but, as we have just discovered, there’s always more you can do - even at this time.
- As in Summer, Winter gardens need plenty of sun, good soil and water, but remember gardens don’t need as much water in Winter and lawns can be watered once every two to three weeks. Most low-water usage plants, in fact, should only be watered once every two months!
Get set for Spring Gardening
To get set for Spring you can start digging and preparing trenches for raspberries, youngberries and loganberries in your food garden. According to some experts, it is also ‘’a good time to plant horseradish, asparagus, global artichokes and rhubarb.’’ We will be delving much deeper into this in our next advice piece though, so watch this space!
Windy Willows Wholesale Nursery has it all!
We have just touched the tip of the (excuse the pun) ‘ice’berg here, and we will try to cover more topics during this season. In the meantime, come and visit our exquisite wholesale nursery located in Honeydew, Johannesburg. Windy Willows is just a ten-minute drive from the Northgate Shopping Centre and here you can easily buy direct from the farm at wholesale prices and members of the public are welcome. We propagate and stock over 200 varieties of trees, shrubs, perennial flowers, groundcovers, and grasses. We also offer several gardening and water services so come and talk to us to get first-hand information - and more hot tips to create wonderful winter gardens! Read next article: Winter is a great time for Waterwise Landscaping