Achieving year-round colour in your garden

The trees might be bare, and the natural world may be fast asleep but that doesn’t mean your garden has to be void of colour, vivacity and life all winter long. With a little knowledge, creativity and effort, we can enjoy a vibrant-looking garden to give us some joy in the dark, cold months.

Whether you have a large garden to maintain, a small courtyard or just a balcony, take a look at the following ways to achieve year-round colour in your outdoor space.

Let there be heather

Heather is a hard-wearing, winter-flowering plant that will cheer up any outdoor space with beautiful mauve, purple and pink tones, bringing some much-needed colour when it’s grey outside. As well as looking great in flowerbeds, heather is fantastic in plant pots to liven up patios, courtyards and balconies.

Heather also comes in pink and white as well as purple, meaning a multitude of tones can brighten up your garden with this pretty low-growing plant.

Grow food in the wintertime

It might be cold, dark and wet outside but that doesn’t mean you can’t produce fresh food in your garden in the winter. Sprinkle clusters of emerald amongst your colourful flower arrangements by growing greens such as lettuce, mustard and arugula. Swiss and kale are also cold-weather growing crops that will bring some much-needed greenery to your winter garden.

Pretty with pansies

Another winter-flowering option to bring some much-needed colour to your garden, are pansies. These delicate-looking yet sufficiently robust to survive the elements of the winter flowers, are available in a whole host of beautiful colour combinations, including gold, red, violet, purple, yellow, orange, white and near-black.

Bring some joy to your garden this winter by placing delightfully colourful pansies in pots, window boxes and hanging baskets.

Create colour with cyclamen

Another ‘winter hero’ in the natural world is cyclamen. This beautiful breed of flower comes in pretty pinks. striking whites and plush purples, eye-catching shades that make a fabulous addition to a winter garden that is considerably barer compared to other times of the year.

Cyclamen is brought to flower from autumn until the spring and looks great in pots on patios, courtyards or terraces, or planted in flowerbeds or under trees.

Happy with honeysuckle

Evergreen varieties of honeysuckle can survive the winter, bringing a beautiful sprinkle of green to your garden. Some species even continue to flower during the cold season, crafting vibrancy and fragrance to your outdoor space, at a time when it needs it the most.