Landscape Interest for Winter

Just because it’s winter, doesn’t mean you can’t have some outstanding color around your house and garden. Don’t let your yard become dull and lifeless during the dark days of winter. There are a variety of plants you can grow that will add color or interest to your landscape in the winter.

Bright red berries are a festive touch for you winter yard. Bayberry is a shrub with glossy, aromatic foliage that complements its waxy, gray fruit. Birds flock to the bayberry for its abundant berries. Evergreen holly is popular due to its striking, year-round foliage and bright berries that attract many bird species. Snow resting on the berry laden branches makes a beautiful sight in winter.

No winter landscape should be without a tall perennial grass. These ornamental grasses, with their tall, thin shafts and fluffy coiffures, exhibit a delicate structure that lends a touch of charm to the harsh winter landscape. Plants with colorful bark like paper bark maples and shrubby red and yellow twig dogwoods will change the look of your winter landscape. You can really play up the drama by timing an outdoor landscape light onto the colorful bark.

It may be too late this season to add these plants to your landscape, but now is the perfect time to survey your yard from the cozy warmth of inside and see what you could add for next winter.