Winter In The Garden

We're settling in now to the stretch of brown and grey that are the cold winter season here in the Midwest. It's at this time of year that I become more conscious of the plants in the garden that serve as backdrop during the growing season, but now are it's sole interest and inhabitants. It reminds me of how important it is think about the full seasonal cycle when you are deciding what to plant , so you can still have some color in the winter months ahead.

During the summer months, I added foundation plantings along the front of our house to replace the mature ones we had to take out when we had foundation work done. Out came the evergreen Yew hedge (that was a bit long in the tooth) and the lovely American Dogwood that was getting a bit too big to be planted so close to the house. In their place, I added Pygmy Barberry, Juniper, and Boxwoods.

My intent in this new bed, was to add plants that outside of the growing season would have color, form, and texture to add interest. Even though they are still babies and have a lot of growing to do, I can already see how that strategy will pay off in future years. Not all "evergreen" plants need to be the same uniform dark green. The Barberry, is a lovely warm burgundy most of the year, and in fall lights on fire with vibrant red and orange tones. The Junipers are tall spires of silvery blue, and keep their foliage all year round. The Boxwoods will be trained overtime into hedges of bright green and stay that way year round. It's the mixing of textures and colors that will keep this part of the garden interesting long after all of the other plants have gone dormant.

Elsewhere in my yard, one of my favorite trees is a mature Holly. Holly is also an evergreen plant and this time of year, adds seasonal cheer with bright red berries covering every branch. This one is also great for the birds in our yard who stop by to eat the berries when the food gets scarce. Gardening around those prickly leaves are well worth the price, when the vibrant winter color brightens a corner of the garden.

Now is the time to take a good look at your winter garden. It's a good reminder to include plants in your plans that offer four-season interest, either by color or form, so there's something to enjoy in the yard, even when the cold winter months set in.

Here's a short list of some plants I think are great for winter interest:

• Arborvitae

• Juniper - Skyrocket Blue

• Holly

• Rhododendron

• Mugo Pine

• Boxwood

• Lavender

• Decorative Grasses- Blue Heaven Little Bluestem

• Winterberry

• Red twig dogwood