Designing with Evergreen Perennials and other Green Leaf Plants

Designing with Evergreen Perennials and other Green Leaf Plants

By Published October 22, 2016 Updated June 22, 2022

Evergreen perennials add interest to your garden year round no matter the season. Their leaves provide color throughout the year. They add texture, shape, and form to the winter garden and continue to provide interest when other perennials are not in bloom or are dormant. Unlike herbaceous perennials that die back to the ground in cold weather, evergreen perennial flowers do not. It is not unusual to see snow blanketing evergreen perennials.

You can create winter interest in the garden with evergreen perennials. Though it may be too chilly where you are for a leisurely stroll through the yard, it's nice to be able to look out the window and still see some remnants of your summer garden. Seeing some green leaf plants in the dead of winter can provide you with hope that spring is just around the corner.

Helleborus (Lenten Rose) are winter-flowering perennials for the woodland shade garden. They are a deer resistant evergreen perennial as well. Rohdea japonica is another evergreen perennial for the shade garden. Plant it under small trees or shrubs where the root competition will allow it to stay on the well-drained to dry side. With too much moisture, unsightly spots can form on its leaves.

Most Asarum (Wild Ginger) are evergreen as well as Aspidistra (Cast Iron Plant). Both do well in shade and/or a woodland garden setting and are deer resistant. Plant them among other green leaf plants like Carex morrowii 'Goldband' (Goldband Japanese Sedge) and Epimedium 'Pink Champagne' (Pink Champagne Fairy Wings) which are also evergreen perennials.

Be sure to design your garden with some evergreens in mind. From deep winter through the heat of summer, most evergreens provide lovely color, help to hide dying bulb foliage and many can be grown as low maintenance ground covers. Along with their consistency, evergreens, or other green leaf plants, are valued for their versatility. They help to provide a “finished look” to your landscape, offering texture and color year round. Why not order yours today from Plant Delights Nursery?

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