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| Gelsemium sempervirens - Carolina Jasmine |
Since a Georgia winter has frequent warm days, we enjoy spending a lot of time outdoors even in January and February. Finding native plants that are showy in winter can be challenging.
We do have many non-native evergreens in our garden, but we find it important to plant native plants whenever possible. After much searching, I have come up with a few suggestions of American native plants you should add to your winter garden:
- American Holly, of course for the berries!
- Carolina Jasmine, Gelsemium sempervirens, also known as Carolina Jessamine, begins blooming often as early as December. Profuse bloom in winter hides the leaves, which are evergreen in most of the South. This easy to grow vine will climb anything or can be grown as a spreading groundcover, but it is never considered invasive.
- Pachysandra Procumbens, often referred to as Allegheny Spurge, is a non-invasive groundcover that develops an attractive silvery mottling to its leaves in fall and winter.
- Evergreens are an important addition to any garden. One I like in particular that looks just as good in winter as any other time of year is Arizona Cypress.
- Yucca provides spikey interest year round and provides contrast in the garden. I like 'Golden Sword' for its bright yellow stripes appearing like sunshine in the garden.
In addition to being beautiful year round, these plants offer the added benefit of being drought tolerant, which is an important asset to consider after the drought we've endured for the last few years.
Source for these plants: Shady Gardens Nursery.
