Suggestions for winter structure in small garden

[BarkingUpTheWrongRoseBush]

Starting from scratch in small back garden as we've had building work. We now have 2 big sliding doors looking out on the new flower bed and a shady courtyard.

Flower bed - There's a very tall privet hedge at the back of the garden which provides an evergreen backdrop. The flower bed gets about 6 hours direct sun in summer - but a lot less in winter. Clay soil but not badly so.

The courtyard has a big wall that has some ground for a climber and plants. But otherwise pots.

Any suggestions to keep it looking good in winter - thinking of seedheads, grasses, nice coloured bark - but stuff that I won't be thinking 'god that's dull' in the summer.

Hellebores, good architectural leaves, and the tiny flowers are surrounded by big coloured petal-like bracts that last well into summer. Cyclamen hederifolium and C. coum will give you flowers and attractive marbled leaves from august through to March, then die back out of the way for summer. Witch hazels, Hamamelis, flower on bare stems in winter, they’re not that inspiring in summer, but have wonderful autumn colours. Skimmia japonica sap reevesiana, which is self fertile, is evergreen, with scented flowers in spring, and big red berries that the birds don’t like, so they stay on for the rest of the year. Also Pernettya, with smaller berries, in red, white or pink, but you need a male plant as well to pollinate.

If you have space for a tree, look at Betula x jaquemontii, a birch with really good white bark, or a snake bark maple, with a trunk which is green and white striped.

Look at sedges as well as grasses. Carex Colman’s, lovely bronze colour, for example

Definitely hellebores - I have a small (4 x 10m) north facing terraced garden that is mostly hard landscaped and the hellebores kept me sane this winter. I have lots of big pots with phormium and heucheras and tulips also - they have been looking good all year round. Witch hazel and fatsia japonica too.

A small winter flowering cherry tree. Ours is in blossom from November through to May and it lights up the garden while everything is else is sparse!

Witch hazel shrub/tree - flowers in winter. I love them!

www.rhs.org.uk/plants/popular/witch-hazel

Oops already mentioned!

I have been working on this in my own garden, and have gone with most of the suggestions. Really recommending cornus, as they are quite fast growing and come in so many colours (looks great year-round). Also, having more permanent structures has helped, like some obelisks (can be used in pots) that easily adds height and interest.

Azaleas do well in pots and varieties flower from January through to May. The need ericaceous soil in the pots. A Fatsia Japonica in a pot would give an evergreen structure.

Some of the Hebes (I've got a dark green/purple one)
Santolina
Lavender
Sage
Stachys Lanata
Buxus
Heuchera (I can't remember if they are fully evergreen)
Artemisia Powys Castle
Euonymus

Japonica, heucheras (evergreen foliage colour), photinia (pink marble is gorgeous), bergenia and all the pink-tinged hebes!

We have hebe midnight sky, a stunning one, leaves are dark purple and shiny in winter. Utterly stunning. Gets lighter and flowers purple in summer.

Also Christmas box (not in fact a box) whichbis evergreen and flowers around Christmas with lovely scent.

I have a big hydranega annabel which has white flowers in summer but you can leave the flower heads on all winter & get a good structure from them.

These are great. Thank you. I’ve got annabelle hydrangea on order.