Avant Garden w15/16
by Derek Fell
One of the delights of gardening in Bucks County is the dramatic change of seasons with the likelihood of snow cover during winter months. Although most plants turn dormant after frost, shedding their leaves and surviving through hardy root systems, the period between leaf drop and rejuvenation need not be bleak. Many deciduous trees—such as the paper-bark maple and river birch—display decorative bark while Japanese maples can present interesting layered branch silhouettes. Many shrubs—such as firethorn and hollies—hold their berries through winter months. Also, there are some extra early flowering perennials—like hellebores and daffodils—that can be planted beneath trees and shrubs to light up the garden before the last snowfalls of winter. For an early flowering display also consider witch-hazels which produce fragrant spidery yellow flowers at the first sign of a spring thaw.
Another recommendation to anyone wishing to add interest to their landscape during winter is to consider some decorative structures, especially a gazebo, benches and bridges. Also, I think a conservatory addition can be a good investment, allowing an extensive display of tropical plants to be grown in a frost-free environment—even flowering plants like orchids, amaryllis, bromeliads and succulents will bloom during winter months. At my home, Cedaridge Farm we added two conservatories—a small unit off the kitchen to serve as a breakfast room, and a larger unit with a writing desk and space to welcome company. Shelves and hooks for hanging baskets allow a diverse collection of plants to be grown and both are situated to take advantage of a beautiful view. The breakfast room overlooks a lawn vista that extends to a stream at the bottom of the garden, while the writing room has a view of a Victorian gingerbread gazebo and barn.
My favorite among trees with winter interest is the native river birch, especially the variety sold as ‘Heritage’ because it has, peeling honey-colored bark that extends from the soil line to the top of the pyramid-shaped tree. A grove of these planted along a stream can be particularly beautiful. Berry-bearing shrubs recommended for Bucks County include the firethorn, winterberry and evergreen holly. When choosing holly, however, be sure to select among the native American hollies as our winters can be too harsh for varieties of English holly. These berry bushes will hold their berry displays well into the New Year. Winterberry is native to Bucks County, but over-browsing by deer has depleted the wild stands. This is a shame because bluebirds and cardinals rely on the berries for winter food.
Bucks County generally experiences a warming trend in February, sufficient to allow shade-loving hellebores to bloom beneath trees and shrubs. At Cedaridge Farm we started with 50 year-old seedlings that have self seeded so that today we have thousands of flowering plants in mostly white, pink and red—many of them spotted. Good companions for hellebores are the early-flowering miniature daffodil, ‘Tete a Tete’. Our daffodil collection is always a welcome sight after a harsh winter, and we have our favorites—notably ‘Pink Charm’ for its intensely pink trumpet and porcelain-white outer petals, ‘Professor Einstein’ for its large flat ruffled orange crown and white surrounding petals, and ‘Fortissimo’ for its extra large blooms. These are composed of an orange trumpet and yellow surrounding petals.
Indoors, we like to fill our conservatories with orchids and amaryllis. We particularly enjoy the many colors of moth orchids, botanically known as Phalianopsis. One in particular—‘Kaleidoscope’—has peach-colored petals and rich red veining, and the ability to remain in bloom for several months. We also like the equally easy to grow, fragrant Cattleya hybrids. The blue Vanda orchids are breathtaking but need misting every day to keep them flowering. Good companions for orchids are ferns, particularly the ‘Fluffy Ruffles’ variety grown in a hanging basket. For an extra exotic look we also grow several dwarf banana trees in pots and a tree fern.
Derek fell is a prolific garden writer whose 20-acre Cedaridge Farm is located in Tinicum Township. His latest books are Vertical Gardening and Grow This! Published by Rodale Press. He is also editor of the on-line monthly gardening newsletter, the Avant Gardener (avantgardener.info).