Even in the cold and dark of winter there are plants to observe and enjoy. It has been in the 20’s for the past week and the ground is frozen. Even in this the Hellebores in my garden are starting to show color. In the open garden they are showing but are slower to raise their heads. The leaves are more damaged and they look a little rough. The one above is ‘Yellow Lady’.
This white hellebore is near the house under the eves and looks better. In the long run they will both be full and lovely but it will be fun to see the difference in growth. I usually cut the damaged leaves off so the blooms can show to best advantage.
This hellebore is ‘Peppermint Ice’, one of the winter jewel series. It is a double white/blush with red edge.
Nandina ‘Firepower’ has beautiful winter foliage. Being evergreen it creates great structure in the winter garden. The winter color is red, purple and burgundy. The summer color is bright green with red tips. The leaves are wider and loosely held which creates good wind movement. Hardy to zone 6 and tolerant of most soil types.
The January plant list wouldn’t be complete without something from the greenhouse. This South African Bulb is not hardy here but it winters well in the greenhouse and blooms early in the year. Veltheimia bracteata or South African Forest Lily. This was my first complete year growing these bulbs. During this past summer they looked terrible. Every leaf fell off and I was thinking they were dead. I continued to water them lightly but still no leaves. Then in the fall they started to sprout leaves and became very robust. Now they are fabulous and blooms are shooting up from the main bulbs. There are several offshoots and they are creating new bulblets in the same pot.
After the Christmas holiday with all the decorations put away it is time to bring the Veltheimia inside. Now they are in the window and I can enjoy their buds opening. Seed catalogs are beckoning and the Garden show is looming but for right now I can just enjoy the winter garden.
