Winter Annuals

Continuing with our winter colour topics lets have a look at some beautiful little annuals which are amazing for a bright splash in your garden in the winter. With the right care and attention there are plenty of good reasons to have a beautiful garden in winter.

Lobulara or Sweet Alyssum looks absolutely amazing at the moment. This beautiful little ground cover grows up to 45cm tall with lance shaped leaves and tiny, scented flowers bunched to form little flower heads all over the plant.

They love full sun and a well drained soil, they are moderately drought tolerant and can grow in a small amount of shade.

Viola plants are another cool season bloomer and can create a lovely accent in the garden. They have heart shaped leaves and the 5 petaled flowers are often in shades of purple and mauve.

Space these low growing annuals around 15cm apart in a well drained soil with plenty of organic matter. If growing in a container apply a dose of slow release fertiliser.

Finally do not overlook the wonderful Snapdragon or Antirrhinum. Reaching up to 1 meter tall or as low as 15cm, the Snapdragon plant is incredibly versatile with it's blooms in every colour except blue making it an excellent companion to the plants mentioned above. The leaves are lances shaped, spiraling around the stems and the flowers appear on spikes blooming from the bottom of the spike upward creating a long bloom time. Grow in full sun or part shade and keep the soil moist, some organic matter in the soil will assist with plant health and blooming.