Seedheads for Winter Interest
Echinacea purpurea
Our gardens can work for us aesthetically all year round and not just from spring to summer.
The idea of ‘putting the garden to bed’ should really be resisted – not only does cutting back and tidying up achieve the opposite (by removing a blanket that would otherwise insulate plants during the colder months) - but it also deprives nature of an important resource, as well as leaving the garden bare and bland from our perspective.
Instead we can focus on elements that will continue to provide visual interest, such as structure, shape & texture. Seedheads in particular can provide so much winter interest in the garden. When it comes to selecting plants to use, it’s worth including a good proportion with beautiful ‘after blooms’ and architectural shapes that, critically, also have strong stems – as we want plants that can withstand the inevitable wind and rain.
There are so many to choose from but here’s just a few to look out for:-
Herbaceous perennials:-
- Verbena hastata
- Cynara cardunculus (Cardoon)
- Japanese anemone
- Crambe cordifolia
- Cephalaria gigantum (seeds around)
- Actaea simplex
- Veronicastrum virginicum
- Echinacea purpurea
- Echinops ‘Veitchs Blue’
- Eryngyium planum
- Crocosmia ‘Lucifer’
Grasses:-
- Calamagrostis ‘Karl Foerster’
- Miscanthus (many varieties) e.g. ‘Malepartus’
- Panicum virgatum ‘Shenandoah’
Bulbs:-
- Alliums – e.g. ‘Purple Sensation’, Christophii & sphaerocephalon
Biennials:-
- Love-in-the mist (Nigella damascene)
- Honesty (Lunaria annua)