Add Color and Interest to Your Winter Garden

Since so many plants lose their leaves with the approach of winter, think in architectural terms. Many plants have interesting shapes or colorful bark that can be displayed to best effect during the winter, like birch, redtwig dogwood and some Japanese maples. Deciduous vines like wisteria can look like surreal sculptures in the winter. Instead of flowers, think in terms of bright berries or interesting seeds, like the Japanese Pagoda tree. Evergreens are an obvious choice for creating an attractive winter landscape.

How to Choose Plants for Winter Interest

One of the best ways to decide which plants will enhance your garden during the winter months is to visit large local nurseries or garden supply stores with large displays of trees, shrubs and vines during the winter. This is the wrong time to buy them, but you’ll be able to see for yourself which kinds of deciduous plants that are hardy in your area have interestingly shaped branches, colorful bark or long-lasting berries. You can make note of which evergreen plants you’d like to include in your garden next season because of their shape, color or growing habits, such as hen-and-chicks for a groundcover or Boston ivy as a climber.

Some shrubs like Pink Dawn virburnum, witchhazel or Carnellian cherry are in full bloom in the wintertime. Corkscrew filberts have twisting branches that display long yellow catkins all winter once the dense leaves have fallen, making them even more attractive in winter. Grasses like blue fescue and blue oat grass maintain their structure and some of their color during the fall and winter.

Take the time to research those plants that you’d like to include to understand their growing needs, so you’ll know if they will make a good match for your garden in terms of their light and space needs as they mature. If a plant will require an annual hard pruning to keep it in bounds, you might want to consider a smaller plant that will stay within bounds without pruning.

In addition to the plants mentioned in this article, Purdue University has a comprehensive list of plants with winter interest here.

Use Hardscaping to Add Winter Interest

The use of hardscaping in the form of arbors and trellises will add height and interest to your garden. Train an evergreen ivy or wisteria vine to twine up an arbor for year-round interest. Install a pathway for strolling through your garden, and keep it clear with an environmentally-friendly deicing agent. Consider adding a heated bird bath and feeding stations to bring the color and activity of birds to your winter garden. Any statuary or stonework you install in your garden will especially stand out in the winter.

Winter is a good time to shop for outdoor statues, fountains and large ornamental pots because the demand is low. So is supply, but many retailers slash prices on these kinds of items during the winter, so it’s a good time to do some bargain hunting.

Planning is Key

As with any worthwhile endeavor, creating a winter garden takes planning and patience. Before buying anything, research the long-lived woody plants you want to include in your garden to ensure a good fit. It may take a year or two for some plants to mature enough to flower. You may have to do some pruning or training to achieve the desired effect.

Planting some early-blooming bulbs like crocus, winter aconite, Siberian squill, snowdrops and grape hyacinth will add a burst of color and interest starting as early as January. These minor bulbs tend to naturalize, and don’t undergo the extended death throes of their larger hybrid cousins. You won’t need to hide their dying foliage.

It doesn’t all have to be done at once, but if you intend to add hardscaping in your garden, you should at least have it mapped out in your mind’s eye – where you someday want to put the tool shed, patio, brick barbecue, deck, retaining wall, or what-have-you – before planting something with a decades-long lifespan in that spot.

Follow the instructions included with your plants, add a sculpture or two, and make the birds feel at home, and by as early as next winter you can have the beginnings of a spectacular garden view all year long.

For more information on winter gardening, please read Keep Your Garden Growing Through the Winter. For more information on caring for your plants in the winter, read Trees, Shrubs and Vines to Prune in Winter.