In New England, deciduous shrubs and trees loose their leaves in October and will only start greening again in April. Most Perennials have not much to offer during winter and the flower display of annuals, although vibrant in the summer, is even shorter.

Is winter the hopeless season for gardeners?

         Maidengrass 'Silberfeder'

Luckily, there is quite a large number of beautiful evergreen shrubs that offer some refreshing color during this time. Some plants also display colorful berries or bark. And a few perennials have attractive looking seed heads or flower stalks that are worth keeping over winter before they get cleaned out in the spring.

    Blue Holly in December

 'Ivory Halo' is a red twig dogwood that has variegated leaves during the growing season

For those who are still not satisfied - here is your only resource:

There are actually some plants that flower in the midst of winter. In my experience, two of them have been extraordinarily reliable: Witch Hazel (Hamamelis) and winter flowering Heath (Erica carnea).

Hamamelis      

blooming in January

Some varieties, such as Hamamelis x intermedia 'Arnold's Promise' and H. mollis 'Pallida', are fragrant - an exotic winter treat!.

'Jelena' and 'Feuerzauber' are orange, 'Diane' is close to red.

Witchhazels open their flowers on mild winter days. On cold days, the flowers are curled up.

Most Witchhazels grow slowly and become elegantly branched small trees.

One kind, H. virginiana, does not flower in the winter, and H. vernalis, has very small flowers. Both are therefore not as exciting as the garden varieties, but they are very suitable for woodland plantings.

All Witchhazels have excellent fall colors.

 Hamamelis 'Arnolds Promise'

All Winter Heath that we offer are perfectly hardy (Zone 5), but it is important to give them the right soil conditions. Excellent drainage is key. We use course sand, pre-moistened peat moss and compost to condition the planting locations. 

Winter Heath are suitable for rock gardens, along stone walls and on sunny slopes. It is also happy on the mound of a septic field, where soil is generally lean and sandy and it can receive at least 5 hours of direct sunlight per day. We interplant Heath with Crocuses and other small spring bulbs to achieve a beautiful contrast.

Mountain Laurel - the evergreen aristocrat of the winter landscape. Their foliage retains a crisp green color and never droops.

A lot of varieties have recently been introduced with interesting new flower colors. Some varieties stay more compact: 'Elf' with pure white flowers and 'Minuet' with flowers that are pink with reddish markings.

Some Rhododendrons droop their leaves in cold winter weather

Other Hellebores have pink, purplish or red flowers, some have mottled petals. Their foliage is dark green and shiny and they are very useful as under-plantings of shrub borders or woodlands. All Hellebores are slow to establish but very long-lived and maintenance free. 

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