Creating Winter Interest

Step into the gorgeous gardens of our readers for inspiration in the off-season

In horticulture , we tattle mostly about natural spring , summer , and to a lesser degree , fall . But that brush aside a after part of the calendar year . It ’s not well-heeled to design a garden that looks good when dust ( or buried ) in C , but it can be done . In this referee ’ gallery from our online forum , Garden Photo of the Day , you ’ll see how a handful of gardener just like you and me interpret “ winter interest ” and accomplished the seemingly impossible : an inspiring landscape in January .

Lay a good foundation with strong forms

Anne Clark • Loveland , Colorado

Great garden have great bone . And in wintertime , those ingredient step forwards like at no other time of the year . Landscape decorator Anne embraces firm forms through her plant and hardscaping choices . “ The morphologic plants and boulders are the bones of my garden , which complement the domicile and frame the word-painting , ” she says . A model of sturdy trees and shrubs anchor her landscape painting , while closer to the planetary house a flagstone walking , outlined by coke , leave the stage for plant with strong forms , such as beaked yucca ( Yucca rostrata , Zones 5–10 ) , to beam .

Get the mix right

Alice Fleurkens • Sweaburg , Ontario

This garden proves that a combination of evergreens , berry - laden shrubs , and cosmetic Gunter Wilhelm Grass is just the just the ticket for winter interest . “ There is surely nothing boring about the winter garden , ” owner Alice say . The assortment of dark unripened conifers and broadleaf evergreen plant , along with the tawny - hued grasses and spent blossoms of panicle hydrangea ( Hydrangea paniculatacv . Zones 3–9 ) , allow the rockspray cotoneaster ( Cotoneaster horizontalis , Zones 5–7 ) , full of red berries , to really pop . This bottom front arresting in spring , keeps go strong in summertime through fall , and sparkles in winter .

Rely on plants in their prime—and past their prime

Joseph Tychonievich • Williamsburg , Virginia

Ivy - leaved Cyclamen purpurascens ( Cyclamen hederifolium , Zones 4–9 , below ) is one of Joseph ’s all - meter best-loved plant . “ That ’s mostly because those unbelievable leaves seem terrific all winter long , ” he says . But for a garden to wait right in winter , it does n’t necessitate to be filled with evergreen plant foliation . Autumn Joy sedum ( Hylotelephium‘Herbstfreude ’ , Zones 3–9 ) and English lavender ( Lavandula angustifolia , Zones 5–8 ) look equally stunning despite being dormant when the picture at far right was learn . The combination of silvern branches and rusty semen head is just as eye - catch as a conifer would be .

Be sure there are a few seasonal stars

Carol Verhake • Berwyn , Pennsylvania

Unique texture and promising coloring material are two traits that make a plant a focal head — even in winter . That ’s why gardener Carol was certain to let in three key works in her landscape painting . ‘ White Cloud ’ calamint ( Calamintha nepetasubsp.glandulosa‘White Cloud ’ , Zones 5–9 ) looks like fluffy bridal lace when case in water ice ( above ) , while the yellow flower of ‘ Barmstedt Gold ’ witch hazel ( Hamamelis×intermedia‘Barmstedt Gold ’ , Zones 5–8 ) and the flash-frozen purple berries on ‘ Early Amethyst ’ beautyberry ( Callicarpa dichotoma‘Early Amethyst ’ , Zones 5–8 ) provide a newsflash of colour even through the snow and deoxyephedrine .

Broaden the evergreen palette

Jeanne Cronce • Port Orchard , Washington

“ Evergreens make a terrific anchor for the garden , ” says Jeanne , the owner of this frozen landscape . Conifers and rhododendron are important players in January and February , and here they assume the function of scope players . But it ’s the magnolia ( Magnoliacv . , Zones 4–9 ) and ornamental grass — not yet dormant — that are the surprising evergreen stars .

Embrace the unexpected

Michel Marie Rose • Yachats , Oregon

certainly , most of us are crestfallen when an early dose of wintertime hits . But if you ’ve inculcate your garden with plenty of winter interest , there ’s no grounds to lament the arrival of the off - season . And as Michel reminds us with this photograph of a rose frozen untimely in place , even a killing frost can inspire beauty .

Photos : courtesy of the contributor

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