Gardening Guides Spotlight Winter Blooms, Native Plants

Gardeners can keep landscapes productive and colorful through winter with seasonal flowers such as marigolds, dahlias, cosmos, petunias, chrysanthemums and roses, while marjoram is an easy indoor herb that can grow alongside lavender and other kitchen herbs. Fall is also a good time to plant long-lived perennials, including peonies, bearded iris and hostas, which can thrive for decades with suitable light, soil and occasional division. In the South, the compact Indian hawthorn cultivar Spring Sonata offers fragrant spring blooms, bird-attracting fruit and tolerance for heat, drought and coastal conditions, provided it has good drainage and enough sun. A Colorado startup, Yarrow & Roots, is growing native plants for restoration projects while also donating produce to a local food bank.