are there any colorful plants you can grown in winter?

Winter pansies, christmas cactus, primrose, paperwhites.

These are all in my outdoor garden in Sacramento and do quite well.

Where to start, sun or shade makes a big difference, especially in California. Variegated evergreens are a great place to start... for shady areas-Aucuba japonica "Picturata" is particularly nice or Taxus stricta "Aurea" a nice yellow tinged yew. Camellias bloom late fall to late winter depending on the species(require consistent water).

Part to full sun, Pinus syl. "Gold Coin" brilliant gold yellow in winter, Many Agave have silvery-blue fleshy leaves. Yucca there are some nice variegated forms of green and yellow or green and creams, in a similar vein Phormium (aka New zealand Flax) comes in creams, yellows, purples, and pinks! Osmanthus is a shrub with fragrant flowers in fall, can have dark green-purple-white or yellow variegated leaves.

My preference is towards woody plants as they do require a little more care/water to get established; however, once established a year or 2 (most of the ones I've mentioned) will do ok in warmer drier climates. When looking for plants for your area it is important to know what hardy/heat zone you are in...I think I mentioned all plants that are ok up to usda hardiness zone 9. The phormium may even be good up to zone 11? On the USDA scale the larger the number the hotter the zone.

By the way, yes there are colorful plants even in winter...especially in CA!

Coelus has pretty, variegated leaves in green, lime green and maroon. I'm growing it in my bathroom right now (but I live in the frozen north!). Another great one would be poinsettia. How about geraniums? They come with variegated leaves, too, and they flower all year long. The flowers come in so many different varieties.

One way to "cheat" is to buy fake flowers and stick those in your hedges. Be sure and remove them when the real flowers come along (-:.

Ornamental cabbage is the decorative plant of choice for winter. It is VERY resilient. I live in La Jolla and my landscaping at my apt complex was recently replaced with it for the winter. I used to also see it back home on the east coast with snow on it!

Take a look: http://www.arhomeandgarden.org/plantoftheweek/arti...

I grow coleus in the winter. Look at the small plants in the stores or visit a local nursery and get some advice about something that catches your eye. They can advise you about specific care. You can learn!!!

Primrose, cyclamen, pansies

amaryllis - have one that is just about to bloom.