Blooms featuring captivating seed-bearing structures
In the heart of winter, gardens and balconies in Germany can still be a vibrant spectacle, thanks to a selection of winter-hardy plants. These plants maintain their foliage and structure even in frost and snow, providing a touch of greenery and visual interest.
Among the top 10 winter-hardy plants are the Snow Heather (Erica carnea), a low-growing, evergreen shrub; the Common Heather (Calluna vulgaris), a hardy shrub that is evergreen; Wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens), a creeping ground cover; Skimmia japonica, an evergreen shrub; Boxwood (Buxus), an evergreen plant that is easy to shape; Dwarf conifers, slow-growing, compact evergreens; Juniper varieties, which can be upright or creeping forms; Evergreen grasses like Japanese sedge, frost-resistant plants; Blue fescue (Festuca glauca), a silvery-blue, frost-resistant plant; and Ivy (Hedera), an evergreen climber that provides winter visual interest.
Hardy annuals also play a part in winter gardening. Love-in-a-mist (Nigella damascena) retains its airy, ethereal form in winter, making it a delightful addition to winter gardens.
Hydrangeas, a popular choice, offer an extended season of interest. It's best to leave the seedheads on hydrangeas over winter, as they provide protection to the delicate shoots forming below.
Eryngium (sea holly), such as Eryngium varifolium, bears distinctive, powder blue flowers and forms equally distinctive seedheads in autumn. Rudbeckias have distinctive black seedheads that light up the garden in late summer and autumn. The spent flowers of Rudbeckia fulgida look beautiful against a backdrop of golden ornamental grasses.
Heleniums, such as Helenium 'Sahin's Gold', bring russet tones to late summer and autumn borders and have distinctive black flowerheads afterwards. However, it appears that teasels do not specifically have seedheads mentioned in the provided paragraph.
Alliums, with their lollipop-like purple or white flower heads in spring, have attractive seedheads suitable for vases. Alliums tend to self-seed, so spent flowers should be removed if not desired. Teasels (Dipsacus fullonum) have conical seedheads that are favoured by birds in winter.
Sedums (Hylotelephium) are great for the front of the border and combine beautifully with other late summer and autumn plants like asters, rudbeckias, and ornamental grasses. Once the show is over, the flat forms of their seedheads come to the fore.
Globe thistle (Echinops ritro 'Veitch's Blue') glows in the border and is popular with wildlife. Its round flowerheads combine well with other flower forms and lead to very distinctive seedheads. Ornamental grasses look wonderful over winter, in shades of buff and brown, and bring light and movement to the garden. They look especially good when grown in groups or drifts and combined with late-flowering perennials. Ornamental grasses should be cut back in spring.
Hydrangeas should be pruned when the new growth starts in spring. This pruning will ensure a bountiful bloom in the following year, making your winter garden a delight even in the coldest months.
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