Even when winter’s cold and snowy weather has taken over, a beautiful landscape is still possible. Here are some ideas on how to highlight winter’s quiet, special beauty in your yard.
Four-Season Perennials
Many perennials feature year-round, attractive foliage, making them a great option for winter landscaping. Even here in the colder northeast, perennials such as black-eyed Susan and tall sedum offer attractive seed heads that can add visual interest to your winter landscape, provided you leave them alone until spring.
Boxes, Baskets and Containers
Wintertime is the perfect time to dress up window boxes, hanging baskets and containers with cold weather plants, decorations and sprigs such as spruce, broadleaf evergreen shrubs, holly boughs and rhododendron. These live plants need to be watered even though it’s winter. Just avoid watering them when it’s below freezing.
Bark is Beautiful
Because deciduous trees shed their leaves for winter, their branches and trunks can become a beautiful work of art. Many smaller deciduous trees and shrubs are easier to find spots for in your landscape. Some favorites include dogwoods and birch trees, which offer outstanding winter color and texture.
Think Berries
Holly bushes with their shiny green leaves and red berries are a natural choice for winter and holiday color. But there are many other trees and shrubs that have berries that remain throughout the fall and winter as well. In fact, Crabapple trees make a great addition to your winter landscape, since most of their fruit remains throughout the winter.
Ever Popular Evergreens
Did you know that evergreens, the quintessential winter choice for landscaping, come in colors other than green. There are some that are a beautiful yellow with green, and others like the Blue Spruce is blue, like the name says.
Your Hardscape Can Be Your Focus
In many cases, the solution to enhancing your winter landscaping may not be plant related at all. This is the best time to think about your hardscaping options. Consider adding an arbor, a garden bench or even a sculpture. Or perhaps something even bigger like a paver or gravel path, a patio or deck or even some built-ins.
