Winter Friendly Blooms
Category Gardening
Keeping your garden colourful and bee-friendly during the cold winter months can be difficult. With the frost killing off any young seedlings and the trees dropping their leaves, some gardeners will look out their windows feeling a little unenthusiastic but don’t worry, your winter wonderland dream is not out of reach. Here are four beautiful flowers that will keep the bees buzzing and bring vibrant, splendid colour to your garden while we wait for spring to come.
Snapdragons (Antirrhinum)
These adorable and playful plants originate in the Mediterranean regions of Europe and Morocco and have provided children and experienced gardeners with hours of joy. Snapdragons are available in a wide, wide range of colours including reds, yellows, pinks, purples, and oranges. These pretty and intricate flowers are ideal for containers, window borders, bedding, and baskets in full sun giving every garden the opportunity to flaunt their own snaps.
Rhododendron (Rhododendron Ponticum)
A broad petalled beauty from the mountains in Asia, the rhododendron is a shrub that gives sensational, delicate looking flower clusters in pink, purple, and white. These shrubs prefer shade, giving gardeners the perfect plant to fill some darker corners of their gardens with bright and cheerful colour.
Bird of Paradise (Strelitzia Reginae)
Indigenous to South Africa and quickly becoming a gardening and flower arranging favourite around the world, the bird of paradise is a garden must have. Their flowers show a mesmerizing combination of bright orange, and sometimes white, over blues and purples that make for a colourful, paradise looking garden and breathtaking flower arrangements. These plants can be grown from seeds and are readily sold at many nurseries. A popular plant for both birds and bees, the bird of paradise will attract life to your garden this winter.
Lobelia (Lobelia erinus)
Another proudly indigenous South African plant, the little lobelia will bring trumpet-shaped flowers in white, blues, purples, and also pink. The lobelia is one of the least pickiest plants to have in your garden, being able to grow in almost any habitat including: rocky slopes, forest floors, damp flats, and sandy dunes. These pretty flowers are perfect for hanging baskets, containers and flower beds with lots of sun and plenty of space to be viewed.
These four plants are perfect for gardeners both amateur and experienced and will provide bountiful amounts of colour keeping you, your bees, and your birds happy while spring slowly approaches. Remember to feed your garden with organic fertilizers and make sure your irrigation system is turned off during colder winter days.
Author: Lillian Rencken
