Cathy Isom has some great information for you about how to add a splash of winter color to your garden. That’s coming up on This Land of Ours.
Give your garden a splash of winter color by planting and growing the wintergreen plants. The glossy green foliage and red berries of wintergreen plants make a showy ground cover in shady gardens. They also make a festive holiday gift plant. The berries of the plant are edible and the leaves can be used in herbal tea.
Wintergreen plants are native to Eastern North America from Georgia to Newfoundland and do best in USDA hardiness zones 3 through 7. Wintergreen are primed to grow without any special tending, provided you have the environment they need to thrive. In their native habit, wintergreen plants grow in the dappled shade of temperate forests, where they creep along and form dense colonies among other acid-loving plants like mountain laurels and rhododendrons.
Wintergreen plants don’t need a nutrient-rich soil, but they do appreciate good drainage. If growing indoors, in a container, keep the plants in bright filtered light, and keep them moist. A cool room will be less stressful for the plants than a hot window. Another great thing about wintergreen, the volatile oils deter most insect pests. Aphids may present an occasional problem in the spring, but are easy enough to blast away with a jet of water.
I’m Cathy Isom…