Many gardeners think of the fourth season as a time for rest, but winter can be interesting and fun to plan for a bold, appealing landscape. While most of us plan our landscapes for bloom times in spring and summer, there are many plants offering color and texture appeal for the cold season landscape.
Winter Beauty in Your Landscape
Winter is a time of special beauty and interest. Berries sparkle on shrubs under a layer of frost and ice, while other shrubs have shades of bronze leaves that cling and rattle in winter breezes. The leafless branches of larger trees cast dramatic shadows across the freshly fallen snow. Bark hidden by the leaves of summer stands out gorgeously in the winter. Barks of silvery gray, white, green, yellow, purple or red hues add a burst of color when the landscape is covered in white. Even barks that are deeply fissured, sleek as satin, peeling in thin layers or curiously pocked by a pitted surface give interest to a wonderful winter landscape. Dried grasses stand out in bright contrast against the backdrop of dark evergreens, shaking snow off their delicate heads. There is even the surprising yellow ribbon-l
ike blooms of witch-hazel which flower in mid-winter or the delicate lavenders and blues of tiny species of crocuses under the snow. Pansies are also a great addition for late-season winter color in your flowerbeds. Everywhere you look, there can be beauty in the winter landscape.
Top Plants for Winter Interest
Many different plants offer interesting features that reach their full potential in the winter landscape. Popular options include…
- Paperbark Maple (Acer grisium)
- Threadleaf Japanese Maple (Acer palmatum dissectum)
- Red Chokeberry (Aronia arbutifalia)
- Redtwig Dogwood (Cornus sericea)
- River Birch (Betula nigra)
- Harry Lauder’s Walking Stick (Corylus avellana ‘Contorta’)
- Common Snow Drops (Galanthus nivalis)
- Christmas Rose (Helleboris niger)
- Witch-hazel (Hamamelis)
- Winterberry Holly (Ilex verticillata) Need female and male plant for berries
- Christmas fern (Polystichun acrostichoides)
- Common Camellia (Camellia japonica)
