Blog 2024 Real Estate Three Winter Blooming Plants for your Cut Flower Garden

Three Winter Blooming Plants for your Cut Flower Garden

By Lydia Hallay, January 17, 2024

For cut flower enthusiasts, winter-blooming plants can provide year-round interest and are beautiful as cut flowers to fill your vase on the dullest of days. These three native plants not only thrive in our Pacific Northwest climate, they’re great to bring indoors. Let’s explore these winter blooming wonders that will add beauty and vitality to your yard – and look great in a vessel.

  1. Hellebores (Helleborus spp.):
    • Variety Selection: Choose from various Hellebore species, such as Helleborus orientalis or Helleborus niger, for a diverse color palette including shades of pink, purple, and white.
    • Planting Tips: Plant Hellebores in well-draining soil with partial shade. These hardy perennials are known for their tolerance to winter conditions and can bloom even in late winter.
    • Blooming Season: Hellebores start flowering in late winter and continue into early spring, making them the perfect choice for adding elegance to your garden during the colder months.
    • Cutting Tips: To prevent them from drooping in the vase, make a tiny vertical cut on the stem before submerging in water.
  1. Witch Hazel (Hamamelis spp.):
    • Blooming Season: Witch Hazel is deciduous shrub known for its medicinal properties and unique, spidery flowers that bloom in late winter to early spring. Varieties like Hamamelis x intermedia ‘Arnold Promise’ or ‘Diane’ showcase vibrant yellow to red blooms.
    • Planting Tips: Plant Witch Hazel in well-draining soil with partial to full sunlight. This deciduous shrub provides excellent winter interest with its fragrant flowers.
    • Cutting Tips: Harvest just before their buds start to open for maximum vase life. Smash the ends of branches with a hammer or mallet before dropping in the vase to increase water intake.
  1. Camellia (Camellia spp.):
    • Blooming Season: Camellias are prized for their elegant, rose-like flowers that bloom in winter. Varieties such as Camellia japonica and Camellia sasanqua offer a range of colors and sizes.
    • Planting Tips: Plant Camellias in acidic, well-draining soil with filtered sunlight. These evergreen shrubs provide a burst of color during the cooler months.
    • Cutting Tips: Before arranging, cut the stems at an angle by holding them under water. You can also smash the bottom of the stem to remove the outer layer and tear up some tissue.

By incorporating these winter-blooming plants into your Portland (USDA Hardiness Zone 8b) garden, you’ll have flowers to cut and enjoy in your house year round. From Hellebore to Witch Hazel and Camellia, these plants not only thrive in our climate, they also contribute to the ecological richness of your garden. Enjoy year-round interest with these winter wonders that celebrate the natural splendor of the Pacific Northwest. Happy gardening!

Lydia Hallay

Broker | OR

She/They

Buying or selling a home is often one of the biggest (and most stressful) decisions you'll ever make. I'm here to make your experience as seamless (and fun) as possible. Looking to buy? Whether you're a design-minded dreamer looking for that mid-century unicorn, an investor on the hunt for a fixer (or a 5-plex) to tear into, or a first-time buyer in need of a gentle guide - I'm a skilled negotiator with an eye for design and a knack for finding homes with "good bones." I'm on a mission to ensure you feel empowered and cared for throughout the home-buying process. Ready to sell? If you want to maximize your sales price, you've come to the right place! With a background in landscape/interior design and construction/project management, I've got the tools it takes to make your house shine. When it comes to catching buyer attention, I go beyond the traditional (ex. open houses, RMLS, etc.)- incorporating cutting-edge tools and outside-the-box strategy to build the hype. When it's time to negotiate, my years of experience bargaining contracts mean I'm calm under pressure and know what it takes to get to YES. Like many folks working in real estate, I've got a grab-bag of past lives that inform how I show up. Most of my 20's and 30's (17 years), I worked as a union organizer/negotiator on the state and national level- helping workers across sectors and industries join together and become leaders in the fight for better wages & benefits, a voice on the job, and political power. I've been an entrepreneur, a landscape designer, freelance florist, and have a deep well of personal experience with home renovation & property management under my belt. Aside from working with buyers & sellers, I volunteer my time as the Integrity Chair on Living Room Realty's Broker Advisory Group.  In that role, I serve as Living Room's broker representative for our B-Corp status. A portion of every one of my paychecks goes to Taking Ownership PDX, a community collective of contractors, realtors, neighbors, and businesses who support Black homeowners to age in place, generate wealth, and deflect the gentrification process by deterring predatory investors and realtors.  
About Me: I was born in Memphis, raised in the Sonoran desert (Phoenix), and have been in the PNW since 2003. I identify as queer, and use she/they pronouns. I'm married with sweeties (i.e., I practice ethical non-monogamy) and nest with my spouse, dog, and two cats in the Lents neighborhood of outer SE Portland. I'm a people person, music nerd, avid gardener, and seed-sower/organizer. Since coming to Portland in 2004, I've witnessed many iterations of the city. I'm bullish on the future here- and excited about all our region has to offer. Good food, proximity to nature, an incredible local music scene, and an inclusive community are just a handful of the reasons I love this area. As your realtor, I promise to show up as myself. I'll hustle hard on your behalf with patience, a good listening ear, professionalism, and a goofy sense of humor. What you see is what you get, friends. And if we decide to work together, that's the kind of authenticity I hope you feel comfortable showing too. Ready to make magic happen? Feel free to shoot me a text/email, or give me an old fashioned ring. I'm excited to meet you!
Land Acknowledgement & Mission Statement As a Realtor, the land I do business on is unceded Indigenous land. The Portland Metro area rests on the ancestral lands of the Cowlitz, Multnomah, Kathlamet, Clackamas, Tumwater, Tualatin Kalapuya, Wasco, Molalla, Watlala, Bands of the Chinook, and so many other nations who made this area their home. In addition to the federally recognized tribes mentioned, there are numerous “unrecognized” tribes and Indigenous groups whose stories are also important. I recognize these tribes' legacy, lives, and descendants, and acknowledge my role and responsibility as a guest on stolen lands. I am committed to using my voice and influence as a real estate professional (and, as a human being) to actively contribute to a more just and equitable future- one that promotes dignity, respect, and repair for the damaged caused by systemic oppression, white supremacy, homophobia/transphobia, and exploitative capitalism. If you can't get behind all that. We're probably not a good fit. :)    
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  • T: 503-807-0156
  • lydiah@livingroomre.com

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