Ruud Kleinpaste: Plants to brighten up the dark, cool months in the garden

The next few months we’ll be “in the dark” so to speak – the shortest days of the year puts us in front of the Low Emissions Burner, keeping warm while reading gardening magazines.   What kinds of plants give us colour at this time?   Go and visit your local Botanic Garden and take a note book with you – I often look at the stuff that Julie plants at our place.  Tree Dahlia are huge plants that can grow up to 4 or 5 meters tall. They are true Dahlias, just a bit taller than your ordinary varieties.   Their contrast with blue autumn and winter skies is remarkable. Easy to grow and easy to prune after flowering. They simply grow another lot of branches next autumn!   Nerines are currently spectacular. Bright pink flowers delivered by a bulbous plant. Seeing we’re in rather frost-free part of the Port Hills, they keep on flowering. They belong to the Amaryllidaceae (bulbs) and don’t care about soil quality as long as it isn’t too wet. Easy to transplant.    Salvia leucantha (Mexican Bush Sage). Works well in full sun with well-drained soil and flowers up to a meter high even at this time of the year, visited by hordes of pollinators – especially Bumblebee Queens.  Smoke Bush (Cotinus species) is an oldy but a goody. Many different varieties and colours, especially in the purple range (Royal Purple, “Grace” etc) but also in lime green or red. Flowers look like smoky patches, but right now smoke bush is a variable painting of artistic colours.  Liquidambar leaves light up the lawn. Those autumn leaves can come in a wide variety of colours, creating patches of oranges, yellows, and purple. Leave them where they are! Birds will attempt to find food under those leaves (worms and hibernating insects) and when those leaves have slowly decayed, you can put them in the compost bin: free Nitrogen.  We have a Eucalyptus tree that flowers profusely right now. No idea what species it is but the Tui and Bellbird, silver eye and bumblebees, winter moths and nectivorous flies, as well as huge Gum Emperor moths (in summer) love this tree for all its gorgeousness.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.