Reasons for being Evergreen

In warm tropical regions, most rainforest plants are evergreen, replacing their leaves gradually throughout the year as the leaves age and fall, whereas species growing in seasonally arid climates may be either evergreen or deciduous. Most warm temperate climate plants are also evergreen. In cool temperate climates, fewer plants are evergreen, with a predominance of conifers, as few evergreen broadleaf plants can tolerate severe cold below about -25°C.

In areas where there is a reason for being deciduous (i.e. a cold season or dry season), being evergreen is usually an adaptation to low nutrient levels. Deciduous trees lose nutrients whenever they lose their leaves, and they must replenish these nutrients from the soil to build new leaves. When few nutrients are available, evergreen plants have an advantage, even though their leaves and needles must be able to withstand cold and/or drought, and are thus less efficient at photosynthesis. In warmer areas, species such as some pines and cypresses grow on poor soils and disturbed ground. In Rhododendron, a genus with many broadleaf evergreens, several species grow in mature forests but are usually found on highly acidic soil where the nutrients are less available to plants. In taiga or boreal forests, it is too cold for the organic matter in the soil to decay rapidly, so the nutrients in the soil are less easily available to plants, thus favouring evergreens.

In temperate climates, evergreens can reinforce their own survival; evergreen leaf and needle litter has a higher carbon-nitrogen ratio than deciduous leaf litter, contributing to a higher soil acidity and lower soil nitrogen content. These conditions favour the growth of more evergreens and make it more difficult for deciduous plants to persist. In addition, the shelter provided by existing evergreen plants can make it easier for other evergreen plants to survive cold and/or drought.

Winter Colour For Your Garden

Although winter approaches with shorter days and colder, wet weather, your garden needn't look lifeless and bland. With some creative planning using a combination of texture and colour, any outdoor space can look rich and vibrant over the coming months.

The key at this time of year is to plant your flowering plants nearer to your house in blocks of colour especially close to windows and along pathways. This will help to give the impression that the whole of your garden is still in bloom.

Whites, pinks and purples look good together and will create a brilliant winter display. Complementary plants are winter violas, pansies and dusty miller (Senecio Cineraria). Evergreen grasses, such as Carex, Acorus, blend beautifully with ornamental kale and cabbage and make great focal points. Flowering kale is also a great accent for evergreen ground cover and looks amazing planted below trees and winter flowering shrubs like Viburnum ‘Pink Dawn’.

There are many versatile trees, shrubs and plants that can give depth and texture to your garden and bring amazing colour with flowers, berries and leaves. You don’t have to worry if you have limited planting beds either, as many of these plants will also thrive in pots with the right care and attention.

Selection of winter colour plants and shrubs.

• Ilex Aquifolium J.C. Van Tol - English Holly: Dark, almost spineless green leaves and large, regular crops of red fruit
• Daphne Mezereum – Daphne: Well-known, sweet scented deciduous shrub flowering in February and March. Purple red flowers followed by scarlet fruits
• Callicarpa profusion - Beauty Berry: Free-fruiting shrub with bronze-purple foliage and dense clusters of violet fruits
• Chimonanthus praecox- Winter-sweet: Flowers around Christmas with beautiful purple centred yellow
• Helleborus Niger - Christmas Rose: Very easy to grow and blooming from Autumn through until spring
• Erica carnea - Springwood White (cultivar): Low-growing sub shrub reaching 10-25 cm in height. Evergreen needle leaves and dark red bell shaped flowers
• Lonicera Fragrantissima - Shrubby honeysuckle: Lovely flowering species with delicate creamy white flowers
• Corylus Avellana Contorta - Corkscrew Hazel: Easily to grow and very interesting visually, branches literally do corkscrew with beautiful rich green
• Garry Elliptica- Silk- tassel bush: Long tassels hang from this impressive plant during winter and early Spring, very unusual plant that complements more traditional plants in the garden
• Gaultheria Mucronata - Prickly heath: Evergreen shrub with dark green glossy leaves and clusters of small white flowers and purple fruit