Winter Gardens

Everyone knows the winter yard with its sad, bare bushes and pale grass but happily it doesn’t have to be that way. Houston’s normally mild winters mean the possibility of year-round flowers for the inspired cultivator.

Many types of year-round plants are both attractive and useful including lavender, bay laurel, rosemary and oregano. Others are great hedges or screens like Japanese mock orange, juniper and viburnum. Ornamental grasses and lettuces make great ground cover and everything looks better swathed in Christmas lights. If you want to be especially festive, try holly as a small shrub or container gardens with Christmas cactus and poinsettia. The southern staple gardenia is also an option, though it won’t bloom until later.

To maintain a healthy garden, don’t Scrooge on the mulch! Mulch helps keep weeds out and moisture in, and also keep heat in. Tend to your bulbs – in Houston they can stay in the ground all winter, but may need fertilizer to encourage root growth. Build tunnels to protect vulnerable plants that are in ground and to support winter vegetables. To promote a healthy spring yard, it is ideal to till beds and remove thatch from the yard. Since our winters are usually mild, stay on top of weeds and pests so they don’t take over in the spring.

In addition to brightening your outlook, yard improvements can up your curb appeal. Low maintenance but beautiful shrubs, trees and flowers are in the top desired yard trimmings. They rank much higher than gnomes or plastic flamingos, and are a relatively inexpensive upgrade.

Want to dig deeper?  Find the dirt on winter vegetables here and flowers here.