Now we’re not talking about your uncle Richard emailing you that he urgently needs $500,000, but rather how many people choose the wrong Conifer for their garden. Slight difference.

You may think you’re getting a cute little Conifer and next moment it has taken over your yard and kidnapped your kids for ransom. Okay maybe not that last part. But there are so many cases where people have a monstrous Conifer towering over their suburban home, or farmers have puny dying Conifers in the yard. When you don’t have the gardening knowledge, it can be really hard knowing what Conifer is right for you.

Especially when there are SO many different types of Conifers that all grow to different sizes and shapes. At Hello Hello we have around 40 different types. Some are really tiny, and you can keep them in nice pots. But some are gigantic and best suited for farm life. It’s all about choosing the right Conifer for the job.

Today we’re going to break down the best Conifers for different types of application, including:

Conifers for Large Gardens

Conifers for Small Featurs

Conifers for Hedging

Conifers for Feature Trees

Conifers for Large Gardens

Pencil Pines are tall, skinny Conifers that are best for large gardens where you are wanting a focal point. Plant them as an avenue, where you could have them lead up to an even greater feature at the end of the garden. If planted close enough together, they also make an excellent narrow hedge.

These are some of the best types:

Cupressus ‘Swanes Gold’ Conifer

Swanes Gold is a lovely, neat shape with golden-green foliage. It doesn’t grow very quickly and keeps that nice tight shape forever. It grows to about five metres in height in ten years. They love full sunlight or partial shade.

Juniperus ‘Blue Arrow’

Blue Arrow has a very elegant look and is the best option for keeping really narrow and tight as it won’t grow too big. It trims up beautifully and has blue-green foliage. Once established, Blue Arrow is hardy and drought tolerant.

Cupressus ‘Glauca Pencil Pine’

Glauca Pencil Pine is absolutely fabulous – tough, fast-growing and requires minimal maintenance. Yet even though it grows like crazy, it still stays neat and tight.

The dark green towering column grows to about nine metres tall. Glauca is the one we recommend for people that don’t want to be climbing up ladders and using all this special equipment to trim it and keep it looking nice. Especially for people who are a bit older but still want something tall to block out other units.

Where a hedge needs trimming, the Glauca Pencil Pine will shoot up nine metres very quickly and only stay a metre wide. Best of all, you will never have to get up and trim it. Glauca is also a fabulous avenue option on a farm or big space.

Juniperus ‘Spartan’ Conifer

Then there is Spartan, which some people wouldn’t call a Pencil Pine, but we like to say is a fat Pencil Pine. Just like the warriors, Spartan is very tough – it doesn’t need much water or good soil. Yet, it is still such a fast grower, ending up at about six metres tall and 1.2 metres wide.

Spartan is excellent as a windbreak, dust/dirt screen and sound block because of its thick foliage. For example, if you live near a railway line or freeway and want to block off some of that noise, you are not going to want a hedge, but rather something dense like the Spartan. Similarly, if you live on a dirt road, Conifers are great at absorbing the dust and dirt.

Conifers for Small Features

Although not tiny by any means, these are some of the smaller Conifers that would look great in a regular garden:

Thuja ‘Smaragd’ Conifer

Smaragd is perfect for the suburban garden, it makes an excellent feature reaching a maximum height of three metres. However, with some trimming you can keep it just over a metre tall. Smaragd is fairly slow growing and has a slightly higher water requirement. It will form a pointed top.

It’s beautiful, thick, and lush, and can be planted in a large pot or as an obelisk style feature. They look excellent in a variety of garden styles, such as cottage, coastal, formal or Mediterranean.

Thuja ‘Golden Biota’ Conifer

A cousin of the Smaragd, Golden Biota grows in a lovely golden-green ball shape, that with a bit of a trim you can keep to one metre tall. Or if you leave it, the end height will be of about two meters tall. The round shape and dense foliage make for a stunning garden feature.

You can plant them as a row along the front fence, or up the driveway. It has more of a rounded top than the Smaragd.

Juniperus pingii ‘Prostrata’

Prostrata is commonly made into a bonsai, by wiring the branches to hang down and arch over. They make for a spectacular small feature and can be kept in pots.

But you can also plant it as a groundcover, and it will fill a large area and grow really low. Prostrata is also extremely hardy for things like the heat and wind.

Conifers for Hedging

Whether it’s for privacy or looks, Conifers make fantastic big and bushy hedges. These are the best ones suited to the job:

Juniperus ‘Spartan’ Conifer

Back again, Spartan is also an excellent option as a hedge. What’s interesting is that you can actually topiarise Spartan into whatever shape you’d like – we often sell them as a spiral, but you could cut it into the shape of chook if you were so inclined. But let’s chat hedging, plant them up close and cut them into a beautiful square for the most fantastic hedge.

Out of all the Pencil Pines discussed before, Spartan is the best choice because you don’t need to plant them as close together due to the thicker foliage.

Cupressus ‘Leighton Green’ Conifer

Leighton Green is one of the most popular options for hedging because it grows at an enormous speed. You need something quick? Plant a small one of these and you can have it up three metres in two years. Trim it up and it’ll grow thick and bushy.

It’s one of the fastest three metre hedges ever. There was a case where someone got their Leighton Green hedge up seven metres in three years from a small plant. That was with perfect conditions, water and fertiliser, and no grass or weeds around the bottom. Leighton Green is great as a tall screen on a farm.

Cupressus macrocarpa

Many of the most expensive properties around Melbourne have macrocarpa hedges because they look incredible and are such a classic look. A lot of people believe macrocarpa is slow growing, but the reason for that is because they receive so little care and attention. Most farmers stick them out in the paddock and never water or fertilise them.

But what we found is if you properly watered and fertilised it, macrocarpa actually grew quite quickly. If you take care of it in the first couple years, you’ll get fantastic growth, and then after that it doesn’t need very much water. So if you are in quite a dry area, then macrocarpa is the perfect option.

We sell the ‘Monterey Cypress’, a vivid green shade and ‘Lemon Scent’, a striking yellow-green colour with a lovely citrus smell.

Cupressus ‘Castlewellan Gold’ Conifer

This is the gold version of Leighton Green, although it isn’t as fast growing, it is a bit hardier. The foliage is dense and a stunning golden green hue. Castlewellan Gold is best suited for medium to large sized properties. They are easy to maintain and shape.

Conifers for Feature Trees

Conifers make the most wonderful feature trees. Some will grow quite large and are best suited to bigger properties, whereas others are great for a suburban backyard. Here are some of our favourite choices:

Pinus ‘Japanese Black Pine’

The lovely dark green foliage is contrasted beautifully by white candle shaped needles. In Japan they trim and train these into beautiful shapes. It will reach a maximum height of 15 metres and has an irregular spreading habit. The Japanese Black Pine is perfect for sunny spots but will tolerate afternoon shade.

Araucaria ‘Norfolk Island Pine’

If you live by the beach, then Norfolk Island Pine is a great option. Being both hardy and beautiful, you’ll find that Gold Coast and South Australia is absolutely filled with them. They are fast growing and make for a stunning specimen tree.

Picea ‘Stone Pine’

The Stone Pine has a fascinating turtle shell like finish on its trunk with a flat head and a widespread body. They are a beautiful tree for big fields and do quite well in hot, dry, difficult sites.

Cedrus ‘Himalayan Cedar’

The most common Cedar is the Himalayan Cedar, also known as the Indian Cedar. It has a natural weeping form that is covered in fine long needles and cones. They are fast and easy to grow. Once established, the Himalayan Cedar can withstand frost and some drought.

Cedrus atlantica ‘Atlas Cedar’

Atlas Cedars are beautiful with short needles, as they get older, they develop a really interesting shape to them. They start off slow, but once they’re more established, they will start growing at about one and a half to two metres a year.

They trim really well, and so even though they can become huge, they are still suitable for the suburban garden. If you don’t trim it, in about thirty years, you’re going to have an absolutely massive tree (may or may not kidnap your children).

Cedrus ‘Feelin’ Blue’ Cedar

This is a very interesting, grafted miniature cedar that will need training. It has lovely blue weeping foliage and is kind of like a collector’s item. Feelin’ Blue loves the sun and doesn’t need much water once it has been established. You can grow it in a pot.

Sequoiadendron ‘Giant Sequoia Tree’

The Giant Sequoia Tree is considered one of the biggest trees in the world, so if you are to plant it in your little suburban backyard, it will kidnap your children. But on a big property they’ll make an excellent feature. Once they get going, they grow surprisingly quick. They have a thick trunk with lovely red bark.

In Conclusion

So there’s a taste of some of the incredible types of Conifers, now it isn’t the full range we sell in the nursery, or even what is available in general. But we wanted to keep it to the best types for different applications.

Conifers are incredibly versatile, from a small to a gigantic feature, avenues to ground covers, screens to hedging, your options are endless. They’re fast. They’re tough. They’re beautiful.

Just make sure you choose the right Conifer, so you don’t get conned.

Feeling inspired to create your own garden, but want some expert advice? Try our one-on-one garden design service with Chris. Together you’ll come up with a selection of plants along with a layout plan that gives you the look you want, as well as being suitable for your local soil and conditions.

get your own tailored modern garden design:

FIND OUT HOW

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Are you a fan of tea?

Well, all green and black tea is made from the foliage of Camellias, from a particular variety called Camellia sinensis ‘Tea Plant’. So you can actually grow your own Tea Plant and have an unending supply of tea. Heaven.

Now we know Camellias are an all-time classic – for years they’ve been a beloved plant in many gardens. But most people don’t know just how versatile the Camellia truly is.

Let’s change that.

We’re going to be talking about:

• The Benefits of Camellias
• The Different Applications of Camellias
• The Different Types of Camellias
• How to Take Care of your Camellias

Here are the DIFFERENT TYPES OF CAMELLIAS that we’ve picked out for you, some of our favourites. Jump straight to them from here if you wish:

Camellia sasanqua:
‘Setsugekka’
‘Pure Silk’
‘Shell Pink’
‘Hiryu’
‘Avalanche’
Camellia sinensis ‘Tea Plant’

Camellia japonica:
‘Volunteer’
‘Pope John XXIII’
‘Black Tie’

The Benefits of Camellias

So why should you want to plant a Camellia at all?

First up, they are so easy to grow. For very little effort you are getting this gorgeous, lush, flowering plant.

Next, they are very long living. Unlike perennials, they’re not going to be a sudden flash of beauty that dies quickly thereafter. You will get year after year of wonderful blossoms.

Finally, which is the whole point of this article, is the fact that they are so versatile.

The Different Applications of Camellias

From the apartment balcony to the deep shade of suburban backyards, Camellias are kind of like that one size fits all leggings – but in this case it’s actually true.

HEDGES & BORDERS

First of all, Camellias are very popular for hedges and borders. We’ve seen hedges that are over a hundred metres long, and a couple of metres tall. Simply spectacular.

POT PLANTS

The next use is as a pot plant. A lot of us live in apartments nowadays, which can make you feel like you don’t get to share in the joy of having your own garden. But just because you don’t have a backyard, doesn’t mean you can’t have an exciting, lush garden.

Pots let you put your plants wherever you want, free of the constrictions of soil. We actually stock our own range of pots, so you can easily get everything you need in one place. But what’s fantastic about Camellias is how well they grow in a pot.

So get creative with where you put them – whether it is that apartment balcony or just the patio. You can trim and shape them in this pot to however you like. Make sure you fertilize and water them to keep your Camellias lush and green.

SPECIMEN IN THE GARDEN

Next thing is growing them as a specimen in the garden. Depending on what variety you choose, you can grow them in the shade with other shade lover plants like Helleborus or Azaleas. Or you can put them in the hot sun with other sun loving plants like Daises or Lavender.

If you are lucky enough to have your own backyard, you might come up against a different problem – the absence of sun. This can come from your neighbour’s house, it could be from other big trees in your yard, whatever the case, shade can be a limiting factor to what plants you use. But certain types of Camellias thrive in the shade, giving you colour and lushness where you most need it.

STANDARD (BALL ON STICK)

Then you can have them as a standard, which is a ball on a stick style plant. You’ll find that most standards don’t flower, but a Camellia standard will give you gorgeous blooms and evergreen foliage. The standard we sell uses a Camellia sasanqua ‘Yuletide’ which has stunning hot pink/red flowers and is a slow grower. You can plant a row of standards in your garden or have it in a pot with some flowers planted underneath.

ESPALIER (USING TRELLIS)

The next application is a bit trickier, but so worth the effort. Get some trellis and use Camellia as an espalier. The best type to plant for this is Sasanqua. Espalier Camellia is perfect for a tight situation up against the wall. For the whole year you will have lovely evergreen foliage and then in autumn and winter you get this gorgeous show of flowers.

SCULPTURE

The last application is even more unusual, but perfect for those who are wanting to do something a bit more different in their gardens. If you are intentional with the trimming, you can shape your Camellia like it was a sculpture, and have it as an exquisite centrepiece in the garden.

One of Chris’ first jobs was to do just this, here is a story from him:

“When I was seven, I went and got myself a gardening job and I used to work every Saturday morning for an elderly lady. Anything that was a bit tricky like climbing the ladder or lifting heavy things, I used to do for her. She planted a sasanqua Camellia that was cut into a perfect cylinder shape with a flat top. I was the one trimming it. It would take me hours, she would direct each snip and I would trim it little by little. But it was a beautiful thing.”

You’re practically spoilt for choice when it comes to deciding how to plant a Camellia in your garden.

The Different Types of Camellias

There are MANY sorts of Camellias, each with their own unique characteristics and strengths.

We bet you’re dying to hear more about that tea producing Camellia, so let’s jump straight into that one first.

Camellia sinensis ‘Tea Plant’

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These are grown all over the world for tea plantation, from Australia, to China, to India. The flowers themselves smell like green tea, but really, it’s the new growth you’re looking at to make that delicious cup of tea. Also yes, you can make green OR black tea, from the same plant. It’s all in the way you harvest the leaves that make the difference.

You have to wait until summer for the new shoots, pick a few grams and dry it in the microwave or oven. Then chuck on the kettle and make yourself a cuppa. This is going to be like no tea you’ve ever had before, that old stuff at the grocery store can’t measure up to freshly plucked and brewed tea.

But of course, the Cammellia Sinensis is so much more than just a tea producer, it’s also a very attractive feature in the garden. You can plant them in a pot, have them as a specimen in the garden, or create a hedge out of them. The flowers are gorgeous, delicate white petals with a golden/yellow centre.

Camellia sasanqua

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We get it, not everyone is a tea fanatic, so here is a Camellia that is purely for show. It’s actually our most popular Camellia in the nursery.

Sasanqua Camellias have smaller flowers and finer leaves than most Camellias. But they also have greater versatility in that they can grow in hot full sun, but also deep shade.

As we mentioned before, a lot of gardens have those spots where the sun never quite reaches, and it can be tricky to find a plant that will work there. But you’re also not limited to the shade, if you have a big kitchen window or an ugly fence you want to cover and it’s in full sun, this is no problem for the Camellia sasanqua. Just make sure you’re watering it more if it is in a sunny spot.

Beyond this, they are also nifty in a tight area because they don’t need a lot of root space as long as you use really good soil. They’ll grow up and then with a bit of a trim you can keep them nice and narrow.

You can grow them under verandas or pergolas, or they make beautiful pot plants. They flower from autumn to mid-winter.

THERE ARE A LOT OF DIFFERENT COLOUR CHOICES, SO THESE ARE SOME OF OUR FAVOURITES:

‘Setsugekka’

Setsugekka is great for hedging and has beautiful dark green foliage with lots of white flowers. They are the perfect option for a green and white garden style.

‘Pure Silk’

Pure Silk have gorgeous white flowers with hints of pink in the petals and fresh buds. People are drawn to Pure Silk because of the lack of a big yellow centre that most other Camellias have.

‘Shell Pink’

Shell Pink is a very strong and rapid grower with massive pink flowers. They are perfect as a dense hedge or specimen in the garden.

‘Hiryu’

Hiryu has vivid pink-purple flowers and is the strongest grower of all the Camellias. It’s great as a hedge and an excellent option for those who are wanting a brighter pop of colour.

‘Avalanche’

Avalanche is a new type on the market that is very handy for lots of people. It is a dense and bushy column that is quite tall and skinny. You can have it as an individual specimen or plant it as a hedge.

Camellia japonica

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Japonica has a wider leaf and tend to grow bushier and fatter than the Sasanqua. They grow quite tall and will live for many, many years. But keep them out of the hot afternoon sun or you’ll get brown patches in the middle of the leaves.

They flower from late winter into spring, so will have blossoms at different times than the Sasanqua. If you plant both species then you can have flowers for five or six months of the year.

JAPONICA ALSO COMES IN DIFFERENT COLOURS, HERE ARE SOME OF OUR FAVOURITE PICKS:

‘Volunteer’

Volunteer has the most amazing flowers, it is an eruption of red-pink flowers into white tips. It is the only Japonica that flourishes in the hot sun (provided there is adequate watering), as well as the deep shade. Volunteer is a good strong grower, nice and bushy, and what’s interesting is that the flowers become richer in colour the more you progress through the season.

‘Pope John XXIII’

Pope John XXIII is a classic white with semi-formal double flowers and really nice foliage. They are another great selection for that green and white garden style.

‘Black Tie’

Black Tie is a more formal double flower in a brilliant shade of red with large leaves. It’s another strong grower that is going to form a dense rounded shape.

How to Take Care of your Camellias

Okay so you’ve decided what type and where you’re going to use it, now you need to know how to take care of it.

Camellias like loose well-drained soil that is acidic. If you don’t have quite the right soil, then dig a big hole and mix in some fine composted pine bark or acidic potting mix. They love lots and lots of fertiliser.

If you’re Camellia is looking a bit crook, what’s likely happened is that you’ve started taking your old Camellia for granted and not watered it enough. So make sure you give it plenty of water. Another solution is to mulch it with fine pine bark or Osmocote. If it was really crook, try the Osmocote liquid fertiliser for acid loving plants, this will almost bring it back from the dead.

In general, your Camellia needs regular feeding – water it and give it Osmocote, and Camellias will absolutely flourish. The best time to prune is immediately after the flowering is finished. The reason for this is that pruning them halfway through the season inhibits next year’s growths.

Although Camellias flower in winter, you won’t get much foliage growth. But being evergreen means that you will still have gorgeous green leaves all year.

In Conclusion

Camellias are a stunning plant with so many applications, from a thick hedge to a pot plant, you have so much freedom with where you want to put it in your garden.

There is a huge range of colour choices so you can go bold or stay subtle.

And if you love tea as much as we do, then chances are you’re gunning for the Camellia sinensis ‘Tea Plant’.

So pour yourself a cuppa and get to thinking about how you want to harness the versatility of Camellias.

Feeling inspired to create your own garden, but want some expert advice? Try our one-on-one garden design service with Chris. Together you’ll come up with a selection of plants along with a layout plan that gives you the look you want, as well as being suitable for your local soil and conditions.

get your own tailored modern garden design:

FIND OUT HOW

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Take a peek out the window or have a think about your garden. Is it looking a bit grey and bare? Have all the leaves fallen off those once gorgeous autumn-coloured trees? Is there even a single blossom left?

You may be suffering from winter-itis. A very real and not made-up disease where one believes that winter is the ugliest time of the year for the garden. If you drive through Melbourne right now, at the end of May, you’ll see there is a bit of an epidemic of this.

Now a lacklustre garden in winter is not inevitable, but rather a lack of forethought and knowledge on what plants will keep your garden looking lush and colourful, including this list of plants that flower in winter:

Nandina ‘Moon Bay
Heuchera
Loropetalum
Cordylines
Coprosmas
Ajuga
Camellia Sasanqua
Erica ‘Ruby Shepherd’ Winter Heath
Hydrangea quercifolia ‘Oakleaf

In this article we will cover:

• Your Current Garden Check Up
• Have an Holistic Approach to Gardening
• Plants that are Colourful in the Winter

Now the first part of winter is the most difficult. Many plants have stopped flowering such as summer Perennials, Roses and Magnolias. Deciduous trees have lost their leaves, and their bare branches can be quite a stark sight.

Late winter you’ll see things start to pick up again, plants like your Quince, Plum, Magnolia or Peaches will start flowering. The further you move along, the more exciting gardens get.

But we’re here to talk about how to get your garden looking incredible ALL winter.

Your Current Garden Check Up

First things first, let’s run some diagnostics on your current garden.

Can you find any spots of colour or lushness? Is anything still flowering? Are your trees deciduous or evergreen?

Now don’t freak out if you step outside and see a barren landscape. Even Chris, our master horticulturist, didn’t always have a perfect garden as he explains here:

“I remember when I built my first home, and I carefully chose all my plants. This would be my first ever garden I was designing myself. I was nowhere near as experienced as I am now, but I still had a good sense of gardening.

“I loved deciduous trees, especially maples. So I planted pretty much just deciduous trees, and all kinds of different perennials. It was late spring, and I had the most beautiful garden all through spring and summer.”

Then winter came. The perennials shrivelled up and lost their flowers. The maples all dropped their leaves. Suddenly I had the saddest, most barren looking garden you’ve ever seen. But I learned a lesson from that, and that lesson was balance.

But how do you create balance in your garden?

Having an Holistic Approach to Gardening

What everybody wants is a garden that is going to look great all year. Not just in the spring. Not just in the winter.
All year.

But that means being clever with your selection of plants, and for most of us with no horticulture background, it can be incredibly difficult. But this is why we are writing this article today and why we offer services like the free Garden Design with Chris and here’s what he says about them:

“I’m very careful in my garden designs. When someone comes in with a list of plants they want and they’re all deciduous, I make them aware of the problems they could have in wintertime.

I would never tell someone what they can and cannot plant. But I suggest bringing in some more evergreens. For example, they could have all their favourite deciduous trees, but plant some larger evergreen shrubs.”

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Let’s take this lesson and apply it your own garden:

PLANT A HEALTHY MIX OF EVERGREENS AND DECIDUOUS
Having evergreens in your garden will help eliminate that bleakness. Consider Magnolias, Camellias, Pittosporums, Olive Trees, the list goes on. Browse our entire category of evergreen trees here. Also don’t forget about other evergreens like Shrubs or Grasses.

USE INTERESTING DECIDUOUS TREES
Not all deciduous trees look terrible as soon as they drop their leaves. For some, their beauty actually increases. Consider the popular Senkaki Japanese Maple. The trunk and branches are a bright, bold red. It practically looks more sculpture than tree. But this isn’t the only tree with interesting bark. There’s the classic Silver Birches with their lovely white and speckled black trunk. If you want to be adventurous, look at trees such as Acer ‘Winter Gold’ Japanese Maple and Betula ‘Wades Golden’ Birch, that have yellow/gold coloured bark.

BE TACTICAL WITH TYPES OF SPECIES
We’re going to use the example of Lavenders to explain this, but you can apply this to a lot of flowering plants. By being clever with what type of Lavender you plant, you can have your Lavenders flowering 365 days of the year. A good plan of attack would look like this:

Deep Purple for the winter. Avonview for spring into early summer. Hidcote for the full summer. French Lavender for autumn. Then back to the start with Deep Purple.

Plants that are Colourful in the Winter

There’s two ways a plant can give you colour – foliage or flowers. Both have their advantages. Plants with colourful foliage give you colour all year round. Flowering plants give you extra interest and excitement. We’re going to first talk about foliage.

Nandina ‘Moon Bay’

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With fiery red foliage and an economical price, Moon Bay is an excellent way to keep those winter blues away. We’re not going to get into them too much here, as we have an article coming out soon about Adding Warmth to Your Winter Garden Using Nandinas. But they’re a very versatile plant that is incredibly low maintenance – so many commercial gardens chuck them in and never think about them again.

Heuchera

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Aren’t these just the cutest looking plant? You’re spoiled for choice when it comes to colour, from the amber hues of Marmalade to the vibrant fuchsia of Wild Rose.

Because they’re so petite, they are perfect for a tiny garden bed. Or pop them in some pots on a deck and have fun with the different colour combinations.

For a dark dramatic look, take Obsidian and pair it with our Urban Style Olive Pot Matt Black. Or keep it light and sweet with Peach Flambe and our Limecrete Egg Pot Antique Rust.

Be gentle with Heuchera and place them in a sheltered spot, with dappled shade.

Loropetalum

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Rising in popularity is the Loropetalum. We love them so much we wrote an entire article about how to Add Excitement to Your Garden with Loropetalum. They have great versatility – trim them into any shape or let them sprawl artfully.

Cut on top and have them as a tall groundcover/low spreading bush. Trim them into a hedge to create privacy from your neighbours. There is a huge selection to choose from, with each type having its own strengths and suitability. So it’s important to read up about them so you know which type will work the best for you.

Cordylines

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If you bought Cordylines a while back, you may have found that some of them discoloured badly in the winter. But with the genius of our plant breeders, this has actually been bred out of them. Nowadays, you have a huge variety of different shades, from pink to purple to brown.

They are very tough growing, tolerating almost any soil type, and love an open sunny spot. One we love in particular is Pocahontas – a rich burgundy intermixed with vibrant purple-pink hues.

It grows up like a palm tree and adds a tropical look to your garden, making you feel like you’re on island getaway and not, well ah, stuck in miserable Melbourne. There are also clumping Cordylines that don’t grow trunks and have a bushier look, such as Electric Flash.

Coprosmas

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Okay we harp on a lot about Coprosmas but it’s because they’re just such damn good plants. They’re tougher than cactuses and have fabulous colours. The colder it gets, the more intense the colours become.

For those living in apartments and have either a rooftop or balcony garden, these are an excellent choice. Wind, heat, salt spray, frost, sun – Coprosma can take anything. They are a great pot plant. Flex your creativity and experiment with different pairings. Use Ignite with our Seafoam Bronte Planter Copper. Pair Pacific Sunrise with our GardenLite Trough Black. Try different shapes, colours and sizes.

Or plant them in the garden, shape them into a round ball, cut them into a square box hedge. Stick with one colour or alternate between different colour combinations. The world is your oyster.

Ajuga

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These are great placed next to plants that look bleak in the wintertime, such as most Hydrangeas or the Arthropodium ‘NZ Rock Lily’. We don’t want to discourage you from buying the plants you love because they don’t look so great in the winter.

Rather, we want to encourage you to include other plants that are a supporting act to your fabulous summer plants. Then in the summer you can enjoy all those Perennials and Hydrangeas and come winter your garden still looks great.
In particular we love the Burgundy Glow with its medley of pink, green, purple and burgundy hues. They’re great as a border in the garden or can be planted in a hanging basket on the patio.

Okay so there’s plenty of colourful foliage options, but let’s chat about some of the plants that flower during winter.

Camellia Sasanqua

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This is one of your best sources of flowers in the winter. What’s really interesting is that in the summertime, the white Camellias sell like crazy, but come winter, no one wants to buy the white. This is because the white shade is quite cold and doesn’t do much to uplift the rest of the garden during winter.

We’re finding that a lot of people right now are buying the soft pink shade because it just looks warmer and friendlier. You can even take it a step further and plant hot pink Camellias. So a little hint: when looking at flowering plants, don’t just look at your whites. Camellias are also just a great, reliable plant that are super easy to grow.

Erica ‘Ruby Shepherd’ Winter Heath

Originating from Africa, these are incredibly tough and very popular. The flowers are an exquisite purple/pink shade and stick around all throughout autumn and winter.

They’re unbothered by the cold wet weather, whereas other flowers can struggle in a particularly miserable spell. They’re going to grow about a metre tall and are great for mass plantings.

Hydrangea quercifolia ‘Oakleaf’

If you are really wanting Hydrangeas, but the horror-quality they take on in the wintertime scares you, then Oakleaf is perfect.

Instead of shedding its leaves, they turn a gorgeous purple shade for all of winter. Then in springtime, new bright green leaves push through, for a time giving you a mix of purple and green leaves.

Curing Winter-itis

If any of your friends or loved ones are suffering from winter-itis, please be sure to share this article with them. We want to help as many people as we can bring colour and lushness into their lives. If you’re hungry for more options, go check out our YouTube playlist How to Have a Colourful Garden During Winter.

Let’s bring beauty into all Australian gardens during winter.

Feeling inspired to create your own garden, but want some expert advice? Try our one-on-one garden design service with Chris. Together you’ll come up with a selection of plants along with a layout plan that gives you the look you want, as well as being suitable for your local soil and conditions.

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