7 Winter Landscape Ideas to Add Color to Your Garden

The trick to beautiful winter landscaping ? Choose plants , trees , and design component that make the most of the time of year ’s special beauty .

rent ’s present it : wintertime landscaping can face a little rant in comparison to the copiousness of colors and texture in the other time of year . Most plantsgo dormantwhen the conditions bend stale , leave behind behind a sorry pallet of white , dark-brown , and gray . However , you still can have a beautiful landscape painting that stands out against the crude backdrop of the quiet winter time of year . " If you desire to be sure you have some winter interest in your garden , you are really looking at just a few thing , " says Barbara Pierson , nursery handler at White Flower Farm in Litchfield , Connecticut . Frommaking strategical works choicestocreating colored focal full stop , here are Pierson ’s upright winter landscaping ideas to help your curtilage shine in every season .

1. Focus On Bark

Deciduous trees lose their leave in winter , leaving their outgrowth and body in focus — but that can actually be a good matter , Pierson order . " If you have anyinteresting ornamental treesthat have really visually typical bark , they will terminate upadding wintertime interestingness . " Many of those trees andsome shrubsare littler , meaning they ’re easier to find spot for in the landscape painting . A few of Pierson ’s deary includedogwood shrubsandbirch tree diagram , both of which offer outstanding winter color and grain .

2. Include Plants With Berries

Manytrees and shrubs have berriesthey throw onto throughout the fall and winter , which can providefood for birdsoverwintering in your area . " Crabappleshold their small fruit , " Pierson says , adding that they make a corking add-on to the winter landscape . " Aholly bush with berriesis also really beautiful , " she says .

3. Consider Evergreens

Evergreens are workhorse in the winter landscape for many reasons . First , there ’s color : Evergreensare not just unripened — they’re also usable in yellow ( such as Gold Thread false cypress ) , blue ( including gnome bluespruce ) , and all the colors in between . Beyond that , evergreensjust make good purpose mother wit , Pierson says . " They are really crucial for a wintertime landscape , but they make a good focal point all yr - round , " she says . " I always like to have at least one or two evergreen and figure out a perimeter around those . When you’replanting a new bed , you always want to let in at least one evergreen . "

4. Rely On Your Hardscape

Winter is a respectable time to critically value your landscape painting and figure out where it ’s miss focal point . As it turns out , the solution toenhancing your winter gardenmight not be a plant at all . " wintertime is the best time to consider hardscape , " Pierson pronounce . " A trellis , a garden judiciary , an spindle , even a garden sculpture , are really indispensable additions . "

play up the standout design features in your winter garden with outdoor lighting . Uplighting evergreens or hanging string lights around a terrace goes a retentive way toward making a winter landscape face welcoming .

5. Dress Up Summertime Containers

Window boxes , hanging baskets , winter - stout container : All are essential for wintertime landscape gardening . Dwarf Alberta spruce andbroadleaf evergreen bush — such asJapaneseAndromeda , holly , andrhododendron — are perfect for wintertime , but they all have to be watered during dry periods . If you ’d rather skip live plant , Pierson recommend sate container with evergreen plant bough of different grain , colour , and branches . " Anything with color in it , " she add together .

6. Choose Four-Season Perennials

Some perennial have evergreen foliage , progress to them a great option for wintertime landscaping . Examples include some ornamental sens anddianthus , which boast beautiful , humbled - growing dismal - green foliage . Helleboresalso have evergreen leaves and evenbloom in the wintertime . The further south you live , the more options you ’ll have for evergreen perennials .

Bob Stefko

7. Leave Seed Heads in Place

Even once fall plant have finished blooming , many of them have attractive seed heads that can add involvement to the winter landscape painting . Consider leaving perennial such as tallsedumandblack - eyed Susanin blank space . In stale northern areas , plants like these can look stunning with a dusting of winter snow .

red twig dogwood