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The year round importance of evergreens.

A lush Summer backdrop and a centre piece in Winter.

Winter is a very peaceful time in the garden. I find it very soothing to quietly wander the garden while most of the plants are resting beneath newly laid layers of mulch. However, it’s during my Winter walks around the garden that I truly appreciate the significance of hard working evergreen plants which soldier on through the coldest days.
Evergreen plants are quite special in that they make a year round contribution to the garden in many ways. In Summer they make a wonderful leafy backdrop to the showy bulbs and perennials. They can also be used to create year round privacy, shelter and ground covering protection from weeds. However, it’s during Winter that they take centre stage and play a principal role in the garden, giving the garden neatness, shape and substance, as well as proof of life itself. In some instances these hard working plants will even go the extra mile for you by obliging with Winter flower colour.

- A leafy backdrop and year round privacy

A border of showy bulbs and perennials can be beautifully anchored by a solid hedge and evergreen plants can do the job marvellously. Such a hedge can also provide privacy for humans and shelter for plants.
There are so many choices - conifers, junipers, camellias, photinia and many, many more but my choice is camellias.
I can’t wait for my as yet immature plants to grow into a glossy dense wall of foliage which will be fantastic for adding substance to my otherwise flat Winter garden. They’ll also be great for blocking the neighbours’ view of my favourite spot to practise “Tai Chi“ at sunrise and they’ll be a lovely backdrop for the flowering perennials in Spring and Summer.

- Shape and substance in the Winter garden

Although I adore bulbs and perennials even I admit that they make no contribution to the garden when they’re dormant. In Winter this becomes somewhat painfully obvious when gardens like mine (ie young and planted with mostly herbaceous perennials) appear basically flat and colourless. In Winter my garden consists chiefly of shapeless drifts of mulch! During this time it also looks a bit messy - especially since the mulch is constantly being scattered around by the wind and the birds.
Evergreen plants are the perfect antidote for this scenario. By simply edging the perennial beds or borders with evergreen plants I can give the garden year round definition which helps to maintain shape and form. I find it an added bonus that the border also helps the garden look a lot neater - not only due to the definition it brings - but also because it stops the mulch from being blown or scattered too far.
Although it’s considered quite cliche by many, I have planted many metres of the good old box hedging but the dwarf agapanthus is another option. However, I’m also a huge fan of the adorable dwarf Sasanqua Camellias being bred in Australia by “Paradise Plants“ including Little Liane (PBR), Paradise Sylvia (PBR) and Paradise Baby Jane (PBR) . I think they make divine dwarf hedges with their densely packed glossy foliage. The bonus is that they flower cheerfully in Winter when there is little else to bring colour to the garden.
Winter Substance is another contribution evergreen plants make to perennial garden. Whilst the majority of plants are sleeping these plants remain as the backbone to the garden, adding body, interest and lush liveliness. So don’t stop at using evergreen plants to “outline“ the beds. Use them also to “colour in“ the borders. Clump them together to create a lush and leafy oasis or two throughout the borders.
The choice in evergreen plants is hugely varied and there are loads of different choices for each application.
If you want to plant interesting and unusual foliage colour try the bronze leafed NZ Flax ‘Thumberlina’. It’s dramatic in colour, dwarf, compact and tolerant of just about everything! Another unusual beauty is the Crambe (Sea Kale). It produces amazingly large silvery leaves in lettuce-like rosettes which can be a real feature in the garden all year round - even when not in flower. The silvery clouds of foliage created by Pot of Gold (Europs athanasia) are also lovely and in Spring, Summer and Autumn you’ll also enjoy their cheerful golden daisy like flowers.
For those of you who can’t resist the allure of flower colour (and who can?), you should try planting some of these evergreens - they’ll ensure you a good supply of flowers that will tide you over the dull dark days of Winter. There’s the show-off Ranculus ficaria Brazen Hussy which produces deep chocolate to near black foliage against which glows glittering golden flowers. You might prefer Californian Skies Blue-eyed Grass (Sisyrinchium) which is similarly obligingly by providing dreamy sky blue flowers which float above cute clumps of grassy foliage during Winter. Naturally you might also choose the Camellias which were mentioned earlier.

- Ground covering protection from weeds.

I couldn’t live without the help of evergreen ground covers. Year round these little troopers soldier on to help me win the war against weeds. They help cover bare patches of ground where it’s difficult for me to mulch and cascade from embankments to soften the line of the garden. And there are many wonderful plants to choose from: - Fairy Godmother’ (Lamium) is a pretty example with it’s year round lasting clotted cream and green foliage. (Its pink flowers in Spring are just a bonus in my opinion.) It’s ideal for shady spots as is Golden Corydalis which flowers in Spring and for the rest of the years produces attractive clouds of light, ferny foliage. Viola ‘Belmont Blue, with lilac flowers, is another evergreen ground cover useful for lightly shaded spots and sunny spots also. Aubrieta Violet Pink is another sun loving year round ground cover. The trusty old Echeveria (available in our October catalogue) should also not be forgotten - they’re as tough as old boots (which is why you’ll probably remember seeing lots of them in your Mother’s or Grandmother’s garden).
If you enjoy a more informal, mounding ground cover you can’t pass the reliable and hardy “Rock Roses“ of which Sunny Side Up is a great specimen. These wonderfully unassuming plants make a great contribution to the front of the garden all year round. In Summer their flowers are wonderfully colourful and for the remainder of the year you’ll enjoy their fuzzy, often silvery, grey foliage.
As you can see, evergreen plants may not always be as showy as many bulbs and perennials but they still have an important role to play in any garden. I hope you enjoy discovering this hardworking group of plants which never takes a Winter break!

Last Reviewed: 18/02/2004 9:33:41 AM

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