Some of My Favorite Winter Plants

Winter gardening articles are often about the future – planning the garden, new species and cultivars, the best summer vegetables. Let’s break out of the mold and talk about things that are exciting in the garden right now.

One of my favorite winter plant combinations is Italian arum (Arum italicum) and Lenten rose (Helleborus orientalis) (foliage of both shown to left). Italian arum has a life cycle that differs from most other plants. The leaves come up in October and look nice all winter. It doesn’t matter how cold it is or how much snow we get, as soon as the weather warms a bit, the leaves look great. The flowers leave a bit to be desired but give rise to a tall stalk of ornamental bright red-orange berries in late summer. As the flowers appear in May, the leaves die to the ground. If there were no fruit stalk, you wouldn’t even know the plant was there for most of the summer (note lack of leaves in photo below. The leaves you see belong to Lenten rose). In October, the cycle repeats itself. Lenten rose has more normal behavior, if you consider flowering in January to be normal. I’ve only seen that happen once. Usually the rose-like flowers are at their best in March, during Lent. The leaves are large, dark green and leather. They’re evergreen and in winter look great against the arrow-shaped leaves of Italian arum. As the new growth begins in early spring, the old leaves will turn brown and fall over. A quick clean-up will let you appreciate the flowers all the more.