The Whistling Gardener

by Steve Smith

Steve Smith is owner of Sunnyside Nursery in Marysville, located at 3915 Sunnyside Blvd., and a respected local expert on all things horticultural. You can reach Steve at 425-334-2002 or by e-mail at info@sunnysidenursery.net.

Around late August this year, I made the decision to try and make my baskets and flower beds last through the month of September. We were having a big family gathering and I wanted everything to look nice. It seemed too early to rip stuff out, so I hauled out my portable injector, which is basically a commercial Miracle-Gro applicator, and started shooting up all my flowers. In about two weeks they started going nuts with tons of fabulous flowers and luscious growth. It was amazing what several applications of feed could do for these tired plants.

A month later the beds still look good (although by the time you read this I will have cleaned everything out) but my big baskets didn't survive the multiple rain storms we recently had. So they got taken down last week and are being refitted with material that will last all winter and survive the freezes and rain and wind. Here are some of the things that will go in them.

Thrillers, fillers and spillers. It's always the same regardless of the time of the year. Every composition needs a focal point (the thriller), some fluff (the filler) and a trailer (the spiller). For winter thrillers you can try ornamental grasses like the bronze sedges or the New Zealand flaxes or small conifers such as Cryptomeria Black Dragon or Wilma Goldcrest Cypress or Ellwood's Dwarf Pillar Cedar, just to name a few. You can also use branches like red twig dogwoods or curly willows. Just cut 2-3 foot long pieces of them and jam them into the soil. Over the winter they will actually root and in the spring you can plant them out in the yard. It's magic.

For your fillers think about foliage. Broad leaf evergreens like Leucothoe will turn a rich bronze in the winter. PJM rhodies become mahogany. So does Johanna azalea. Nandina will take on a lovely winter hue as the temperatures drop. There are many, many other shrubs that do very well as winter fillers in a basket or patio planter.

There are several perennials that are evergreen that work as fillers for the winter. Bergenia has large shiny green leaves this time of year that turn ruby in the winter. The color choices of Heucheras are almost endless. Purple, plum, peach, chartreuse or caramel are just the tip of the iceberg. Winter heathers will actually bloom all winter long and can act as filler or spiller. Euonymus Emerald Gaiety and Emerald and Gold are both filler/spiller candidates that have variegated green and white or green and yellow leaves that take on wonderful purple tones in the winter. For a durable spiller, try Sedum Angelina. Its bright golden foliage turns orange to almost red in the winter.

For a more traditional approach you can plant ornamental cabbages and kales, but stick to the more 'airy' varieties like 'Peacock' that let the rain and snow drain through so they don't rot. Dusty miller is another tried and true perennial for the winter. Both of these look best when they are combined with any of the above shrubs and perennials.

As you can see, the overall theme for winter baskets is not flowers, it is foliage color and textures with flowers playing a very minor role. Oh sure, you can't lose with a few pansies or violas thrown in here and there, or some bulbs buried beneath the shrubs for a spring surprise. But the foliage of shrubs, perennials and even small trees is what will give your winter baskets interest and staying power. And when it is time to replant them, everything you put in them can be transplanted into the garden for a permanent home.

To summarize, pitch your summer annuals now and get containers rooted for fall and winter interest while there is still some sunshine and warmth. Later this month and next, and the next, and the next, you'll be glad you did!



Steve Smith is owner of Sunnyside Nursery in Marysville. You can contact him at

425-334-2002 or online at info@sunnysidenursery.net