Does anyone here have a winter garden?

[maddie]

It does get too cold to have much growing.. but there are the hollies and camellias or hellebores... Do you have a colorful garden even in winter?

 

[claudine]

Unfortunately during winter in my garden you can see only two colors: white from the snow and dark green from conifers. I'm not a big fan of conifers though so I don't have too many of them. I live in middle Europe and winters in my country are very cold

 

[Jed]

Australian plants are evergreen so when winter comes, there is some colour about. The yellow wattle flowers are out in the middle to end of winter. These look spectacular amongst the dark green.
Australia's sporting colours are gold and green, this is because of the wattle and the eucalptus trees.
Daffodils flower in the middle of winter in my garden and they always seem to promise the coming spring.
As you can gather winters are not that severe here.

 

[maddie]

@Claudine, That is sad... I am sure you could manage some plants indoors with some lights, just to brighten up your mood.

@ Jed I did not know that this is where Australia's sporting colors came from. I have never seen a wattle flower so I am going to look for it and post it here...

And they look so pretty!!

 

[Jed]

Yes that is a wattle. It's a member of the acacia family. There are so many different types of bushes and trees. The bees and birds love the pollen.
The seeds usually sprout after a bush fire. They need smoke and heat to do so in a big way.
There is a myth that when the wattle tree seeds in profusion , there will be summer bush fires.
We made a long hedge out of this variety.The Ovens wattle. Every late winter it blossoms and looks spectacular.

 

[claudine]

@Claudine, That is sad... I am sure you could manage some plants indoors with some lights, just to brighten up your mood.

I grow miniature roses indoors but they need to go dormant during winter. Soon, I'll have to move them to the attic where they'll have the right temperature. I miss them already!! But they'll come back in the spring so other plants can't take their places on my windowsills. I guess I just have to survive this awful winter and wait for beautiful spring

Wattle looks so beautiful!

 

[maddie]

@ Claudine, I guess you could always get some grow lights for your plants.. roses do not necessarily have to go dormant in winter... Ours flower through the year.

I found some helpful information on winter gardening.. and thought I would share it here with you http://ezinearticles.com/?Creative-Winter-Gardening-Ideas&id=1587306

 

[Jessi]

I don't. Our frosts are just too bad for outdoor gardens. I wouldn't mind having a greenhouse at some point, but then again, it could be a pain to go in and out during the harsh winters to deal with. I much prefer gardening in the summertime instead.

 

[claudine]

@ Claudine, I guess you could always get some grow lights for your plants.. roses do not necessarily have to go dormant in winter... Ours flower through the year.

I'm afraid roses have to go dormant, otherwise they'll die - at least in my climate zone. I heard about this rule: if a plant grows outside in your climate and goes dormant during winter, you also have to let it go dormant at the same time if you are growing it indoors. Anyway, I prefer not to take the risk - I love my roses too much . But I wish spring was already here

 

[maddie]

@ Jessi, I understand where you come from... I just thought people would like having fresh flowers, herbs and veggies during winter too... We have no winters at all... in a comparative sense ..

@ claudine, I really wouldn't know too much about the weather conditions in your country.. I guess you know best. If winter comes can spring be far behind?
You just made me quote Ode to the West Wind by Percy Bysshe Shelley
and I love his poetry.

 

[claudine]

I love his poetry too! Although it's a little difficult for me to read it in English. I have to though, since all translations are terrible.
My roses had gone dormant last winter and during spring and summer they grew beautifully so I think I'll just do the same this year even though I miss them so much when they aren't in my room

 

[Jessi]

@ Jessi, I understand where you come from... I just thought people would like having fresh flowers, herbs and veggies during winter too... We have no winters at all... in a comparative sense ..

If it were practical for me, I definitely would! I just know it's not logical to have where I am and would require a lot of work to try to make it possible.

 

[maddie]

If it were practical for me, I definitely would! I just know it's not logical to have where I am and would require a lot of work to try to make it possible.

Jessi, don't you have plants like poinsettias or a few winter plants indoors? I understand that it would be impossible to have plants outside in frozen conditions and to tend to them outside in such inclement weather.. I am just curious.

 

[Jessi]

Jessi, don't you have plants like poinsettias or a few winter plants indoors? I understand that it would be impossible to have plants outside in frozen conditions and to tend to them outside in such inclement weather.. I am just curious.

I have cats, so no poinsettias for me. They're toxic for cats and I'd rather not kill them. I have tried to have other living plants inside before, too, but my older cat insists on eating the leaves off any plant so I can't keep at it.

 

[claudine]

I have cats, so no poinsettias for me. They're toxic for cats and I'd rather not kill them. I have tried to have other living plants inside before, too, but my older cat insists on eating the leaves off any plant so I can't keep at it.

Then maybe you should buy something without leaves, like a cactus perhaps . Although I must say that I find cactus rather ugly, I don't like them at all.