Greenhouse gardening – Is everything bleak over winter? Of course not. Remember the bright red berries and the flickers of color as the birds eat them? But there are flowers most of the time, as well. Many greenhouse gardening plants linger past the early frosts, and Indian Summer is always bright with the remnants of the autumn.
But most plants are dormant, and most flowers gone by the time the ‘dead of winter’ brings the snow and frozen nights of the new year. However, the January thaw is no myth. Let the warm breeze and slanting sun expose a patch or two of ground, and here come the snowdrops. Their dropping petals are white, the dwarf iris can be purple, yellow, or bright blue, and the winter aconite is a clear, clear yellow.
These hardy plants all come from bulbs, which go dormant when the cool weather is over. They don’t do well in far southern regions of the United States, but down there the gardens are full of majestic camellias, glowing reds and pinks, corals and whites, set off by glossy dark green leaves in towers of beauty ten feet or more in the air. Other flowers go all winter in the south, like the hardy asters and bright pansies.
The little winter bulbs lead right into the spring ones, as does the shrubby witch hazel. Just before the early daffodils bloom, the crocuses and the winter jasmine open, rushing ahead of the forsythia. Daffodils soon take center stage, blooming early, mid, and late spring, ushering in the shyer tulips. The azaleas echo the fading pinks of the redbud trees and the creamy white of the dogwood; when their huge mounds of color have given way to the similar hues of rhododendron, it is almost time for the roses.
Roses rule over the courts of summer. Older roses may bloom just once, in May, while newer varieties have been coaxed to bloom all season. The wildflowers, hidden in the woods all spring, now dance along the sides of the road, and cultivated daisies bloom inside the garden walls. Lavender and mint and Russian Sage bring the bees, still drunk from the abundance of the apple and cherry blossoms. Lilies grow in so many shapes and colors they are like a garden by themselves. Lilies love the sun and will keep blooming in the hot, dry months.
Fall comes with the blaze of colorful leaves, and the bold colors of autumn flowers. Asters and chrysanthemums, the bright red Pineapple sage, and the flaming nasturtiums that have sulked in summer heat now burst on the scene. Early summer plants like larkspur and lobelia will bloom again, if they have been deadheaded or cut back after their first bloom, and given a little fertilizer. Sedum Autumn Joy continues to carpet the ground like it has done since early spring, but now it flourishes in cooler weather.
Designing A Flower greenhouse gardening For All Seasons is not at all hard. Pick a color theme or go with what you like and jumble it all together. There are hundreds of plants not on this list, others that contribute shape and texture more than color, and then all the accents like stones and statues and urns. Oh, what fun it all is!