Though spring, summer and fall provide are the of the garden, winter does provide the opportunity to draw attention to some overlooked but striking garden characteristics. A well thought out garden can create a winter landscape with great winter qualities. Against the stark backdrop of snow and earth, a wide variety of plants can provide winter interest to your garden.
When choosing plants for your garden, consider their winter qualities such as bark, berries, silhouettes, seed pods and seed heads.
Integrating evergreen trees or shrubs in a garden design is an effective way to add color to a winter landscape. The greenery adds a nice contrast to the starkness of winter. Spruce, pine, holly and juniper are just a few great species from a wide selection of evergreens for the garden. Variegated evergreens have foliage which is multi-colored. Euonymus leaves, for example, have a dark green outer edge with a yellow or white center which brighten the garden
Another way to add color to garden in winter is to select shrubs which produce berries. There are quite a few shrubs, both evergreen and deciduous, that produce berries which are suitable for almost any garden. Both viburnum (Viburnum sp.) and holly (Ilex sp.) form colorful berries which can persist thought the winter months.
A common berry producing evergreen shrub is holly. Hollies vary in size and shape and most will produce bright red berries which last throughout the winter. Some grow to the size of small tree, while others are small shrubs which grow to only a few feet. Determine what you need for your garden a find one which will work best for you.
Some trees and shrubs, once they loose all the foliage, display their unique colorful or textural bark. Bark is an often overlooked feature in the garden and can play an important role when trying to add winter interest to the garden.
The red twig dogwood (Cornus sericea), for instance, is a great native shrub for any garden. Its bark is bright red and is quite striking in the barren white landscape. The white birch tree stands out in the winter landscape and as the name suggests its bark its white bark can brighten up the garden.
In the winter, a plant’s silhouette becomes more prominent. Keep this in mind when you are pruning. Try to create a certain level of symmetry in its shape. The graceful silhouette of the weeping willow (Salix babylonica) or the tiered branching structure of the Japanese maple (Acer palmatum) are eye catching in winter.
Seed pods, such as those formed on the golden-rain tree (Koelreuteria paniculata), are an attractive garden feature in winter. This tree’s stunning yellow flowers turn into brown Japanese lantern-shaped seedpods which hang elegantly from its branches. Long colorful seed pods form in the fall and last through winter.
Ornamental grasses produce colorful seed heads in the late autumn that, if left standing through the winter, are beautiful as they sway in the wind. Wait until the spring to cut back these grasses and enjoy the dried stalks gleaming in the winter sun. The large flowers of the hydrangea (Hydrangea macrophylla) dry naturally and turn pale pink or pale white.
Remember that walls and fences develop greater visual importance in winter as the vines and vegetation screening them lose their leaves. Also, hedges of boxwood or screens of cedar make a stronger statement in winter.
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