Giving Color to Your Winter Lawn

Just because it is wintertime does not mean you have to take the color out of your yard. Many people who love seeing the vibrant colors in their yard during the spring and summer think that the cooler months can only reflect shades of gray and brown. There are some excellent choices of winter plants and flowers that will keep your landscape bright during this approaching cold season.

It is helpful to be familiar with some plant terminology as you are making your winter gardening choices. Let’s start with the basics, such as the difference between annual plants and perennials. An annual plant sprouts and then flowers, but it will only live for a year. Annuals come in starter containers and are planted, or grown from seed. Perennials are plants that you can expect to come back year after year. They are started from seeds, bulbs, starter packs or larger plants. There are both annuals and perennials that can offer color and survive during the winter months.

Other common words you may hear as you are shopping for winter plants are “hardy, half-hardy and tender.” What does this mean exactly? It refers to the group that the plant is divided in according to its tolerance of heat or cold. Hardy annuals thrive in colder areas of the country, but do not do very well in warmer areas. Half-hardy annuals, on the other hand, cannot survive frost, but they can tolerate mild winters or a touch of cold temperatures. Tender annuals would not be your best choice for winter. They need warm or hot weather to flourish. Your safest bet for winter annuals for your garden or hanging baskets will be those labeled “hardy”.

Give your winter garden a colorful lift using hardy annuals such as sweet peas, pansies, calendulas, larkspurs, cornflowers, dianthus, snapdragons, lavender, violas or even ornamental cabbage and kale. Pannone’s Lawn Pros & Landscaping can help you beat the winter gardening blues with their expertise on hardy annuals and flowers for your yard. Say yes to winter and to color in your yard this year!