Winter Gardens

As winter descends upon the Lowcountry not all is lost in the pursuit of outside flowers.  While many are familiar with the fall to winter and winter to spring blooming sasanqua and Japonica camellias there are other flowers to consider for your outside garden to lessen the winter blues. 

Here at Drayton Hall, we have been trialing and planting several types of Narcissus (to many just Daffodils) that have proven to provide flowers of pure white to orange and yellow, fragrant, and much more resilient to wildlife and cold than you would imagine.

Over the past four years the Lenhardt Garden has benefited from the December through February blooms of Narcissus ‘Grand Soleil d’Or’ with its sweet fragrance, yellow petals, and orange center cup.  This Narcissus tazetta, is one of 13 divisions that arrange and group all Narcissus by characteristics.  The tazetta group is known for being mid-sized, multi-flowering, sweetly fragrant, with a short cup.  Many of the cultivars in this division are not good choices for northern climates but are some of the best to try in in our area, as they do not require a chill period and are able to withstand the hot summers.  The only caution is not to plant them in soggy or wet clay soil, as with all Narcissus.  Selections from other divisions are also possible, the large cupped (Division 2), double (Division 4), and the true Jonquil (Division 7).

-Eric Becker Manager of Landscapes, Horticulture, and Modern Facilities