A winter garden doesn’t have to be dead and dreary. Even in the middle of winter the garden is full of life (and we don’t really get much of a winter here in SC to be honest). By incorporating evergreen foliage, winter blooms (yes, they exist), and texture through persistent berries, seed heads, and grasses, your landscape can remain vibrant year round.
The following trees, shrubs, and perennials are widely available, easy to grow, perform well in most South Carolina gardens and most importantly, they look nice in the winter garden.
Starting with Shrubs
Florida Anise ‘Pink Frost’ (Illicium floridanum ‘Pink Frost’)
Growing Requirements: Partial to full shade; moist, well-drained soil
This evergreen shrub keeps its variegated foliage year-round, with creamy-white edges that brighten up shaded areas. The leaves tend develop a pink hue during the cold months. Any variety makes a great addition to the garden. I use Florida Anise in a LOT of my designs, it’s got smooth evergreen foliage, can handle a wide variety of conditions, is very low maintenance, not too big, and looks good pretty much everywhere.
Other Benefits: Deer-resistant, drought-tolerant once established.
Camellia (Camellia japonica, Camellia sasanqua, Camellia sinensis (used for tea))
Growing Requirements: Partial shade; acidic, well-drained soil
One of the best-known winter bloomers, camellias provide lush evergreen foliage and gorgeous flowers in shades of pink, white, and red. Camellias are a bit of a staple in southern gardens, dubbed the “rose of the south”. Camellias come from Eastern Asia but are not considered invasive, a few bees will visit the flowers and some birds may nest in the branches. They work well as specimen plantings or borders. I personally love Camelia sinensis, or the Tea Plant, as the leaves are used to make black, green, white and oolong tea.
Other Benefits: Attracts pollinators, works well as a hedge or specimen plant, and is long-lived with minimal care.
Winter Daphne (Daphne odora)
Growing Requirements: Partial shade; well-drained soil
Produces highly fragrant pink or white blooms in late winter, offering a much-needed burst of scent and color. This plant can be a bit of a diva, so it maybe best for experienced gardeners.
Other Benefits: Compact, deer-resistant, and low-maintenance once established—just be sure to plant it in well-drained soil to prevent root rot.
Yaupon Holly (Ilex vomitoria)
Growing Requirements: Full sun to partial shade; tolerates a range of soils
This native evergreen produces bright red berries in winter, which persist well into spring and attract songbirds. I love Yaupon and I think you should too. It’s an easy to care, the birds love the berries, and they respond well to pruning. It works well as borders, hedges, or specimen plantings. Note that only females will produce berries.
Other Benefits: Drought-tolerant, easy to prune, and available in compact or weeping varieties to fit any space.
Winterberry (Ilex verticillata)
Growing Requirements: Full sun to partial shade; moist to wet soil, but adaptable to average garden conditions.
Bright red berries persist through winter, providing striking color and an essential food source for birds. It’s hard to talk about winter shrubs without talking about Winterberry. Like other Hollys, it’s easy to care for, responds well to pruning.
Other Benefits: Supports wildlife by feeding birds and small mammals; requires both male and female plants for berry production.
Trees
American Persimmon (Diospyros virginiana)
Growing Requirements: Full sun; adaptable to most soils
Its bright orange fruits persist well into winter, offering color and a valuable food source for wildlife (and people!). The American persimmon is an overlooked plant in my opinion, it’s a beautiful tree and the orange fruits on bare branches in fall and winter make an enchanting pop of color. This tree can get quite large and you will need more than one to produce fruit, but it makes an excellent addition to the garden if you have the space.
Other Benefits: Extremely drought-tolerant and requires minimal care once established.
Eastern Red Cedar (Juniperus virginiana) Growing Requirements: Full sun; tolerates dry, rocky, or poor soil. This native evergreen provides year-round greenery and produces bluish berries that feed cedar waxwings and other birds. Eastern Red Cedar is a popular garden choice for borders and specimen plantings, however it’s one of those plants that gets misused quite often (in my opinion). It’s commonly used in hedge and row plantings, or for heavily trimmed sculptural plantings and quite frankly it tends to look quite boring. However, when used as a specimen planting or shade tree and allowed to be a little wild, it is truly a beautiful tree. Keep in mind, it will be a long term investment if you choose to plant one. Other Benefits: Highly drought- and salt-tolerant, great for shade and large areas, and supports wildlife.
River Birch (Betula nigra) Growing Requirements: Full sun to partial shade; tolerates wet soil. Its exfoliating bark in shades of tan, salmon, and cream adds stunning texture and color to the winter landscape. River Birch adds wonderful interest in a barren winter garden, however much like the name suggests this tree commonly grows along river banks and likes consistently moist soil. This tree does not perform well in hot and dry areas. Other Benefits: Fast-growing, adaptable, and resistant to pests and diseases, making it an excellent shade tree.
American Holly (Ilex opaca)
Growing Requirements: Full sun to partial shade; well-drained soil; tolerates clay, sand, and loamy soils.
Evergreen foliage and bright red berries create year-round interest and provide winter beauty. The American Holly is a good, solid tree. Like other holly, it’s low maintenance and responds well to pruning, and only females produce berries. Much like the Eastern Red Cedar, American Holly tends to get over-pruned, in my opinion it looks best if let to grow a little more natural.
Other Benefits: Drought-tolerant once established; provides food and shelter for birds and other wildlife; excellent for privacy screens or as a specimen tree.
Perennials
Hellebore, Lenten Rose (Helleborus spp.)
Growing Requirements: Part to full shade; well-drained soil
One of the best perennials for winter blooms, hellebores offer long-lasting flowers in shades of pink, white, purple, and green. Lenten rose make a great addition to the winter garden especially in those shady areas where it seems like nothing will grow. There’s many different species and varieties to choose from and the foliage looks great year round.
Other Benefits: Evergreen foliage, deer-resistant, and thrives in woodland gardens.
Christmas Fern (Polystichum acrostichoides)
Growing Requirements: Partial to full shade; moist, well-drained soil
One of the few fully evergreen native ferns, keeping its deep green, arching fronds through the winter months. There’s not much that can go wrong with a Christmas fern, they are extremely low maintenance and they look beautiful year round. Note that like other ferns, they do best in shade with medium to moist soil.
Other Benefits: Deer-resistant, low-maintenance, and great for erosion control on slopes.
Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea)
Growing Requirements: Full sun; well-drained soil
Dried seed heads persist through winter, providing structure and a food source for birds like goldfinches. While Purple Coneflower may not be your first choice when choosing winter garden plants considering the plant is dormant and the foliage is dead, but because of the beautiful seed heads it’s definitely worth some consideration.
Other Benefits: A top pollinator plant in warm months and easy to grow in tough conditions.
Northern Sea Oats (Chasmanthium latifolium)
Growing Requirements: Partial shade to full sun; tolerates various soils
Its graceful seed heads remain standing through winter, adding movement and texture to the garden. A garden without Sea Oats is incomplete. They’re easy to grow, require little maintenance, and do well as specimen or mass plantings.
Other Benefits: Birds love the seeds, and it’s excellent for erosion control.
Autumn Fern (Dryopteris erythrosora)
Growing Requirements: Partial to full shade; well-drained soil
Maintains semi-evergreen fronds with a mix of green and coppery hues. Although this plant mostly dies back by the middle of winter, it’s beautiful fronds take on a coppery hue in late fall that persist into early winter.
Other Benefits: Low-maintenance, deer-resistant, and works well in woodland or shaded gardens.
Indian Grass (Sorghastrum nutans)
Growing Requirements: Full sun; tolerates dry to moist soils; thrives in sandy, loamy, or clay soils.
Golden-bronze seed heads persist through winter, adding height and movement to the landscape. Every garden needs some whimsical tall grasses that flow in the wind and Indian Grass does just that. It’s low maintenance, drought tolerant, and adds life to the winter garden.
Other Benefits: Provides food and shelter for birds and pollinators; excellent for erosion control and naturalized planting.
A Few Design Tips for a Beautiful Winter Garden:
- Layering: Use a mix of trees, shrubs, and groundcovers to create depth and interest.
- Texture & Structure: Combine plants with varying forms—upright trees, arching ferns, and seed heads that add movement.
- Wildlife Habitat: Include plants with berries, nectar, or seed heads to support birds, pollinators, and beneficial insects year-round.
With these selections, your garden can be functional, wildlife-friendly, and visually stunning even in winter.
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