7 Plants To Add To Your Garden Now For Color All Winter Long

Your garden may be in its full glory in spring, summer and fall. But that doesn't mean you have to stare at bare garden beds the rest of the year. Many beautiful plants put on their best show in the winter, offering color, texture and interest during the coldest months of the year.

Now's the time to plant, too. Fall is ideal for getting perennials established. With cooler temperatures and more plentiful rainfall, most plants are off to a good start when they're planted in the autumn. It's also much less stressful on you!

In areas with cold winters, make sure to plant when you have at least six more weeks of good weather—though you can plant later than you might think , as long as you have daytime temperatures in the 40s to 60s and the ground is still workable. In more temperate parts of the South, where the ground doesn't freeze, you can plant all winter long.

Ahead, these are our favorite plants for winter color:

Pansies

• Botanical Name: Viola x wittrockiana

• Sun Exposure:Part shade to part shade

• Soil Type:Rich, moist, well-drained

• Soil pH:Neutral to slightly acidic

There's a reason these charming flowers are incredibly popular. Pansies are beautiful, come in many bright colors, and bloom for most of the winter in mild climates. They come in both upright and trailing varieties, which work well in containers and window boxes. Deadhead them to keep the flowers coming. With a little protection, pansies will withstand a light freeze; use a frost cloth if temps drop into the mid-20s.

Hellebores

• Botanical Name: Helleborus spp.

• Sun Exposure:Part shade to dappled sun

• Soil Type:Rich, well-drained

• Soil pH:Neutral to alkaline

Hellebores , also known as Lenten roses due to their common bloom period around the time of Lent, are exquisite. The delicate flowers are much hardier than you'd guess, surviving freezing temperatures all the way to zone 4. Depending on the variety and where you live, they bloom from early winter to early spring. Best of all, deer and rabbits leave them alone.

Cyclamen

• Botanical name: Cyclamen coum

• Sun exposure:Part shade

• Soil type:Moist, well-drained, rich

• Soil pH:Slightly acidic

If you're looking for a groundcover that blooms in winter, Cyclamen coum is a pretty choice. The butterfly-like blooms appear in early to midwinter and last for weeks, rising above the heart-shaped silvery leaves. In summer, the plant goes dormant; keep the area on the dry side during this time. Cyclamen pops up again when temperatures cool off again in the fall.

Heath

• Botanical Name: Erica spp

• Sun Exposure:Full sun to part shade

• Soil Type:Rocky, sandy

• Soil pH:Slightly acidic

Though it doesn't like heat and humidity, heath does well in areas with chilly winters, typically zones 7 and colder. This low-growing evergreen shrub keeps a compact, mounded shape, so it makes a good groundcover. Depending on the variety, tubular pink, white or purple flowers cover the stems from late winter to early spring. It's often mistaken for heather, but that's a different genus which is more cold hardy. Deer and rabbits ignore this plant due to its somewhat needle-like texture.

Winter Aconite

• Botanical Name: Eranthis spp

• Sun Exposure:Full sun to part shade

• Soil Type:Rich, well-drained

• Soil pH:Alkaline

If you're looking for a sturdy late winter bloomer, this tiny-but-mighty perennial is a must-have.

Plant the small tubers in fall for brilliant golden cup-shaped blooms in late winter to early spring. Each flower is surrounded by green bracts that look like a fancy collar. Best of all, wildlife leave this bulb alone, so it's a good choice if you're always dealing with rodents digging up your spring bulbs.

Heuchera

• Botanical Name: Heuchera

• Sun Exposure:Full to part sun, full to part shade

• Soil Type:Rich, well-drained

• Soil pH:Slightly acidic to neutral

The beautiful scalloped or ruffled leaves of this perennial come in every color from chartreuse to deep burgundy to pumpkin orange. It also gets spikes of tiny flowers, which hummingbirds love, in mid-summer to fall. Plant heuchera , also known as coral bells, this fall to help them get established. In mild climates, the foliage stays vibrant all winter long. They also work well in seasonal container plantings.

Bergenia

• Botanical name: Bergenia crassifolia

• Sun exposure:Full sun to full shade

• Soil type:Moist, well-drained, rich

• Soil pH:Acidic to neutral

Bergenia is a clumping perennial that has thick, glossy cabbage-like leaves. The clusters of pink or purple flowers appear in late winter, or as early as December in warm climates. Some varieties have pretty burgundy foliage. You might be tempted to plant it for its cute common name alone: It's also known as "pigsqueak" because of the squealing sound it makes when you rub a leaf between your fingers.

Read the original article on Southern Living