Fight off Winter Gloom with These Two Colorful Cold-Resistant Plants

Contrary to popular belief, we do have winter here in Oakland, California. It may not involve snow, ice, or even frost, but the nights get longer and colder and the days are just too short for many plants to thrive. I like to give myself and most of my plants a rest during this time, as nature intended.

But, that doesn’t mean you can’t have a little beauty to get you through the dark months, and this year just adding two winter plants commonly found in nurseries to my containers provided pops of jewel-like color from November through February: the humble pansy and the hardy heuchera.

Note: both of these plants work equally well in a shade situation as they do in a winter situation! They just like to keep cool.

Consider the humble pansy

Pansies may not be the trendiest or most unusual garden specimen, but they sure work wonders in a pinch! This year, once I cleaned out my mildew-ridden tomatoes and late-summer blooms, I was left with lonely evergreen stalwarts and a bunch of empty pots. I knew pansies could tolerate cooler temperatures (see photo of the poolside pansies at the Villa Necchi in Milan – in January!), so I headed to the nursery with them in mind.

Of course, like at any nursery in late October, there were so. Many. Pansies. Classic winter plants, they come in a tempting array of colors and sizes. I restrained myself and picked out two varieties that I felt complemented each other: a “giant” cream and purple bloom with a charming peachy-yellow center, and a smaller, brighter bloom of pure orange.

The ever-reliable heuchera

Another common nursery plant, I am not in any way above heuchera, also known as coral bells. I am a sucker for broad, round leaves and earthy, subtle tones, both areas in which heucheras deliver. I picked out a purply-red version to add some autumnal foliage to my balcony and balance out the hot orange and cool purple of the pansies.

There are native California varieties, commonly known as alumroot, if you’re nurturing a native space. Unfortunately, I didn’t see any at the nursery I went to, and settled for a “garden variety” (ha!) heuchera instead. Next year I’ll look out for the native version. By the by, if you have a shady spot in your garden, any time of year, heucheras are a great go-to.

Winter cheer achieved!

As you can see, I interspersed the pansies and heuchera throughout my whole balcony, amongst the potted trees, fuchsia, and in a few pots of their own. I especially loved the braided cement planter with the heuchera and pansies combined. Once everything really hit its stride around late November/early December, they provided a lovely rhythm of reds, purples, and oranges across the whole space.

As for the future of my winter plants, the pansies are annuals so once spring comes around I’ll replace them with the ornamental flowers I’m planning to grow from seed this year. The heucheras can last forever, so we’ll see how attached I get!

Some lessons learned

• Shortly after Christmas, a seemingly endless series of atmospheric rivers hit the Bay Area, providing record rainfall well into January. As we’re years in to a historic drought, we really needed it, but the pansies did not enjoy being pummeled with water 24/7. I found the ones in their own pots fared better than the ones in companion planters, probably because they were able to develop stronger root systems, and therefore become stronger little plants!
• Both the pansies and the heuchera fell pray to aphids, but I decided I just didn’t care. It’s winter. Let the aphids feast. Some of the pansies survived and some didn’t, and the heuchera are completely fine. Love them, so hardy!
• If you, like the aphids, would like to feast all winter and not spend any time gardening, that is completely fine. I have accepted that my balcony in winter isn’t going to look amazing; it is a stressful time and I suffer from seasonal bummed-out disorder. For some folks it’s nice to have a reason to go outside regularly in the winter, and I feel that too. Just take care of yourself and remember that spring is around the corner!