Every year after the holidays, mailboxes fill with gardening catalogs picturing trees, shrubs, perennials and bulbs in full bloom. Without restraint, they could send avid gardeners into bankruptcy and make them impatient for the beginning of spring. But, we tend to forget that we have many plants in Georgia that bloom in early, mid- and
late winter.

Weather watch
In colder northern states, winter can mean that the ground is frozen solid and covered with several feet of snow for months at a time, and spring often seems very far away. Here in Atlanta, though, blooming Bradford pears, forsythias and redbuds help to alleviate some of the chilly gray of winter. We are fortunate to live where winters are mild enough to make gardening a year-round activity.

Several factors can affect how colorful our winter gardens will be—the plants, location, winter temperatures and rainfall. Aberrations in weather can catch some bloomers off guard and ruin an otherwise colorful late winter, as in March of 1993 when the “storm of the century” caused a blizzard across northern Georgia. That year, unfortunately, the late-season camellia blooms were ruined after the storm passed. Summer weather also affects winter bloomers—winters preceded by hot, dry summers often produce flowers that have more muted colors.

Calendar of color
It is possible to have blooming plants in the garden from fall right through winter and into spring when it officially arrives in late March. With a little planning, you can have something blooming in your garden every month of the year. Start by making a month-by-month list of blooming plants and their requirements, beginning with the late-fall bloomers. Pay special attention to those that are fragrant and place them where their aromas can be enjoyed, such as around entrances, paths or walkways.

Fall into winter bloomers (October-December)
Among the most reliable late-fall bloomers are camellia sasanquas and native witch hazel. Witch hazel usually blooms in early to mid-November in Atlanta. Camellia sasanquas usually begins blooming in October and will continue (depending on the variety) through New Year’s. In my garden, camellia sasanquas ‘Setsukegga’* starts in October and blooms for nearly a month with yellow-centered white flowers.

The aptly named yuletide camellia blooms around Christmastime with its bright red, yellow-centered flowers. Early camellia japonica varieties, White by the Gate, Christmas Beauty, High Hat and Professor Sargent, start their show in late November.

Perennial gentians and forsythia sage will bloom until the first hard frost sends them into dormancy. Finally, several bulbs, including autumn crocus and hardy fall-blooming cyclamen round out the late-fall perennial season.

Although annuals are considered a garden necessity during summer, we have several winter annuals that can be planted in the fall that will provide color in the spring. These include the old garden reliable pansy and ornamental cabbages and kales. These are best planted in early October, and depending upon the weather, will look fresh and bright into April when they are replaced with summer annuals.

Early to mid-winter bloomers (January-February)
The timing and abundance of mid-winter blooms can vary from year to year. In mild winters that are preceded by a good growing season, a bountiful bouquet of flowers may be observed. In winters with harsh temperatures (in the teens or below) or that are preceded by a hot, dry growing season, blooming plants may struggle. One plant that seems unfazed by cold temperatures is the Christmas rose. This shade-tolerant evergreen perennial begins blooming in the area in January and continues until March. Lenten rose usually begins blooming in February and continues into early April.

January and February also mark the middle of the camellia japonica blooming season. Mid-season bloomers include the Mrs. Charles Cobb, Rebel Yell and Clarise Carlton varieties. The open flowers of white-blooming camellias can turn brown in temperatures below 25 degrees. Other shrubs blooming at this time include paper plant, daphne*, wintersweet*, winter heath, vernal witch hazel* and hybrid witch hazels*.

Some of the earliest native ephemerals also begin blooming at this time, including liverwort and trout lily. Reliable blooming bulbs are snow crocus, glory-of-the-snow, early daffodils, winter aconite, winter cyclamen and snowdrops.

Late winter bloomers (March)
March is a peculiar month in Georgia. Sometimes it’s winter, sometimes it’s spring and usually it’s both, often in the same week. In recent years, a familiar late winter weather pattern has emerged. Late February often ushers in a warm spell that continues into early March. This false spring often encourages some early spring bloomers to peak out early, and then we are hit with a hard frost sometime around the third week of March. Plants that bloom in March likely have the toughest time of all dealing with such fluctuations in temperature.

The most familiar blooming trees in early to mid-March are the saucer magnolia, the foul-smelling Bradford pear, the Okame cherry and the redbud. Many people confuse the Okame cherry with the redbud. Okame cherries bloom about two weeks earlier than redbuds and have a softer pink-purple color. Redbud flowers are a much more vibrant lavender color. Every few years, the saucer magnolias get caught in a hard frost and are turned to a mushy brown. However, it seems that those with darker purple blooms fair better in a frost than those with lighter pink flowers.

Other trees that can reach their peak prior to April 1 are the Yoshino cherry, serviceberry and red maple.

And what would March in Georgia be without the forsythia? Those bright yellow flowers are hard to miss. Other March-blooming shrubs include the late season camellia japonica cultivars Purity, Dixie Knight and Lady Vansittart. Flowering quince often begins its show in very early March, and loropetalums begin in mid-March and continue into early April.

March offers a few blooming vines, like evergreen Armand’s clematis* and Carolina jessamine*. Ground covers like Georgia blue speedwell and creeping phlox can be covered in flowers well before April. The woodland natives celandine poppy, rue anemone and bloodroot light up the forest floor from early to late March. In fact, many of the best flowering bulbs reach their zenith before the official start of spring. These include early tulips, spring starflower, miniature irises and grape hyacinths.

So when the dreary days of winter get you down, start planning a garden that will burst into color while the rest of the landscape is asleep until spring.