Add Winter Interest With Evergreen Perennials

The best way to banish bare borders during the colder months is to plant easycare perennials with foliage that will add shape and structure, says Graham Clarke

- Graham Clarke

To say that the garden is bare in winter is both obvious – and wrong! For many, the definition of a perennial plant is one that is a riot of colour in summer, then disappears to ground level for winter, leaving beds and borders completely devoid of anything green before magically returning in spring.

But there are dozens – nay, hundreds – of ‘evergreen perennials’: plants that don’t die back in autumn. Their green, grey, yellow or reddish leaves persist throughout winter, giving borders interest and colour until spring.

When planning planting that offers something of interest all year round you probably think first of evergreen trees and shrubs. They are, after all, the backbone to any garden. However, evergreen perennials play an equally important part in keeping your plot alive and supplying form and structure during the winter months. What’s more – great news if you are pushed for time – evergreen perennials tend to require less care to keep them in tip-top condition. For instance, they won’t need a strenuous session of mass cutting back of dead and faded stems to ground level.

Good for wildlife

Wildlife will appreciate them, too. Insects, small mammals and birds all need a garden that isn’t completely tidied away for winter, and they will make good use of the sanctuary and shelter the foliage and stems provide.