Skip to content

Northern Gardening: Greenery good for winter season

The garden is sleeping under a protective blanket of snow, and my calla lilly, begonia and gladiolus bulbs are resting in my cold room. I don’t know about other gardeners, but much as I enjoy gardening I also enjoy the winter break.
winter greens

The garden is sleeping under a protective blanket of snow, and my calla lilly, begonia and gladiolus bulbs are resting in my cold room. I don’t know about other gardeners, but much as I enjoy gardening I also enjoy the winter break.

There are still the houseplants, many of which are also taking a winter rest in the shorter daylight, requiring less water. Some, however, are just getting into their flowering season. My Thanksgiving and Christmas cactus have started blooming in pink, red and white, and my paphiopedilum orchid is producing flower buds. I enjoy seeing seasonal plants like poinsettias in the stores, but all my suitable growing spaces are occupied, and I do not have the heart to throw away a plant when it’s bloom season is over.

It’s not really gardening, but I do like to put up Christmas lights throughout the yard. My other outdoor project is to use some of my planters to display some greenery and lights.

We are fortunate to live in an area where we can go out in the bush and collect our own greens. Spruce, balsam fir and pine offer greens, dogwood, also known as red willow, offers red branches, and alder branches have seed structures that look like miniature cones. If you happen to travel along the Easterville road you can add cedar to your greens, or you can purchase some cedar branches. This year I was fortunate to have a neighbour with a large crab apple tree that required the removal of some branches that were in the way in the driveway. The crab apples are a lovely red. Other years I have used rose branches with rose hips for a touch of red.

When you gather greens and branches use pruners or a small saw to leave clean cuts. Do not collect too much from a single tree or shrub. This will not damage the plants, and should not affect their appearance.

The simplest way to display the winter greenery is to use planters that have been emptied of dirt. As soon as there is enough snow I fill the planters with snow and pack it. I then cut up larger branches to the size I want, and insert them into the packed snow. These planters last all winter. Then I add the lights for the Christmas season.

If you are more ambitious you can use greens and branches to make your own wreath or swag, incorporating pine cones, ribbons, decorations or even dried flowers. Let your imagination run wild.

push icon
Be the first to read breaking stories. Enable push notifications on your device. Disable anytime.
No thanks