Salvia rubiginosa (left) with Salvia elegans Purple Form (right)

In my early days of gardening, I developed a yearning for flowers in winter, to help alleviate the dreary cold of the season. My only guides at that time were English gardening books, and so I tried growing the plants that were recommended by these tomes - such as hellebores (Helleborus species), winter iris (Iris unguicularis), winter jasmine (Jasminum nudiflorum, winter aconite (Eranthis hyemalis), witch hazel (Hamamelis mollis) and winter honeysuckle (Lonicera fragrantissima). Whilst some hellebores do well in Sydney and the winter iris too (I grow these plants still). the rest languished in my garden, as they really were suited to much cooler climates than ours, many demanding a really cold winter to do well. When I discovered warm-climate Salvia plants in the late 1980s, I found that so many of these had their blooming time in winter and I quickly embraced them to provide me with the floral frenzy I craved. I then decided to pursue other plants from warm climates - such as South Africa, Mexico, South America, Central America and South-east Asia, and learned that these plants did so much better in my garden than those from cooler climes. And many of them flower in winter!

Salvia Timboon

Salvia Timboon

I don't grow all the winter-blooming Salvia that I once did, mainly because a lot of them are quite large and took up too much space in a suburban garden; they also require a fair bit of pruning. But I still have some of them, reminding me of those heady days when I had that epiphany that changed the course of my gardening life. At the moment, rosy bract sage Salvia rubiginosa, has just started its long blooming period (June until October). It grows to about 1-1.5 m tall and has cluster of small, rich blue flowers accentuated by purple calyces. As shown at the start of the blog, it looks pretty grown nearby Salvia elegans Purple Form (ht 2-3 m), a winter- and spring-flowering shrub with long spires of dainty cerise flowers. Like many of the larger Salvia shrubs, its height can to some extent be controlled by cutting it back very hard in summer (as well as when it finished flowering in spring). The same thing applies to the gorgeous, tall, burgundy-flowered Salvia 'Timboon', which is also still in my garden.

Tagetes lemmonii

Tagetes lemmonii

The lantern-flowered Abutilon hybrids (ht 1-2 m) bloom well through winter and into spring, and include yellow, orange, red, white and pink varieties. They do best in light shade. The unusual Phymosia umbellata (ht 3 m, Mexican bush mallow) is like an Abutilon on steroids and its cranberry-coloured, lantern-shaped blooms appear in winter in clusters in the axils of the leaves near the tips of the stems. Linum (Reinwardtia indica, ht 1m), an undemanding, suckering (but not rampageous), small shrub smothered in bright gold coins for many weeks in early winter; it tolerates shade. The brilliant orange daisies of the mountain marigold (Tagetes lemmonii, ht 1-1.5 m) are provide a broad smudge of colour from May until August. It is at its best in a sunny spot as is poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima, ht 3.5m), with its scarlet bracts formed like dramatic flowers, in single or double form. In recent years, I have been growing a cream-coloured version, which is also attractive. I find it useful to pinch the tips of poinsettia stems back every so often over summer to create a bushier form then cut back very hard after flowering.

Pycnostachys urticifolia

Pycnostachys urticifolia

The same approach has paid off with another winter bloomer that I had previously given up on as being 'too straggly': the hedgehog sage (Pycnostachys urticifolia, ht 1-5-2 m). Not actually a Salvia, but in the same general Lamiaceae family, it has breathtakingly blue, cone-shaped inflorescences in winter. I pinched the growing tips back conscientiously all summer, and whilst it is still not the most dense of shrubs, it has branched quite well and I am so enjoying the blooms right now. On the advice of an iGarden reader, I plan to chop it back very hard after it finishes flowering.

Ruellia makoyana growing with rhizomatous Begonia cultivars

Ruellia makoyana growing with rhizomatous Begonia cultivars

The Acanthaceae family gives us many winter bloomers: firefly (Justicia floribunda, ht 60cm-1m), with its profusion of dainty red and yellow harlequin blooms, and yellow jacobinia (Justicia aurea, ht 1.5m), with tousled flowers which last a good two months in June and July. Brazilian red cloak (Megaskepasma erythrochlamys, ht 2-3 m), has its vibrant crimson bracts in bold spikes from May until July. Shrubby Christmas pride (Ruellia macrantha, ht 1.5-2 m), still sports its large, rosy-pink trumpets, and at groundcovering level, trailing velvet plant (Ruellia makoyana, ht 30 cm) has petite flowers of a similar shape and hue. Many members of the Acanthaceae family do well in shadier parts of the garden.

Adding a few of these plants to your garden will provide pleasure for the cool months ahead!