How To Get Flowers in Your Winter Garden

The summer may be drawing to a close in mid September, and summer bedding plants may have gone over. They look tired and not attractive to look at. Now is the time to plan for autumn and winter with a selection of Winter bedding plants. You may just take out the summer bedding plants and see what the soil is like. A selection of plants are available that can bring flowers through to December.

1. Select your Winter bedding plants. There are about a half dozen plants that can reliably perform as the weather deteriorates and frosts start to occur. Your local nursery or plant seller will start displaying these plants from September onward. They are generally hardy to frosts and can withstand cold weather with new growth occurring after frost damage. These include pansies, violas (like the gorgeous Johnny-jump-up), wall flowers, primulas, polyanthus, Sweet Williams, colchicums, and forget-me-nots. Other plants include ornamental cabbages and heathers.

    

   It's best to select contrasting colors that look good side by side. I like reds and yellows, blues and whites, oranges and yellows. You can choose a selection of plants with colors to match your existing garden. The trees and shrubs surrounding the borders can be used as guides to which colors you can plant.

2. Prepare the soil. Once you have bought the bedding plants and given them a watering, it’s time to prepare the soil. I usually just dig it over, removing any weeds and stones. You want the soil to be in the best condition to take your new bedding plants that will flower over the coming winter.
3. Arrange the plants. The fun part is coming up. You become an artist, arranging the bedding plants on top of the soil according to how they look. Remember to read on the plant label what the height and spread are. Stand back and work out if the border flows, if it blends in with the other structures like trees and shrubs. Good shrubs for winter interest are the evergreen ones like euonymus green and gold. There are so many colors, you can buy whatever colors suit your garden and arrange them to your taste.
4. Plant the bedding plants. This is the joyful part of the how-to. You use your trowel or fork to dig holes slightly larger than the plant’s root ball. Put some compost and fertilizer into the hole before putting the plant in. You cover the root ball up to the top layer of the plant and firm it down to remove the air pockets. You work your way along the bedding plants securely planting them. Once your plants are in their new home, water them in well so the water causes the roots to dig in.
5. Aftercare of your plants. After you have done all this you just need to water them when it is dry, or when the wind is blowing. You can fertilize them once a week with general purpose plant food.

Check for signs of new growth often and wait for the winter flowers to start blooming. The flowers should give you color and interest between fall to winter, and more reblooming in the spring.