What You Should Know about Landscaping for the Winter
By: Brendan Wetzel
Tags: Seasons, Maintenance, Landscaping, Winter, Plants

If you live in an environment where you have a relatively long winter season, you might not think about landscaping during the cold and bare months. Without the flowers and fruits of spring and summer, most don’t see winter as a season for landscaping or gardening.

But the truth is that winter can be a time of great beauty. You would do well to take advantage of the winter season to add appeal to your home and property. Here are a few plants and trees that you should consider to add interest to your landscaping during the snow-filled months.

Photo by Robert Thiemann on Unsplash

Winter Landscaping Considerations

There are a few aspects to consider when planning a landscaping approach for the winter. For many people who are interested in landscaping, bird watching is a large part of the plan. With that in mind, many winter landscaping trees and shrubs featured involve those which produce brightly colored berries to attract wild birds.

In addition to attracting wildlife, the height of plants used in a winter landscaping scene is important. After all, your plants won’t do much for adding to your landscape if they spend the winter season covered with snow!

Traditional Favorites

Some obvious choices for a winter landscaping and gardening effort are of course classic evergreen trees. Their beautiful green or blue-tinged colors add brightness and interest to a winter garden, and they tend to do well in colder climates. Coniferous evergreens add dramatic height to your landscape, and they will continue to grow each year.

Before choosing an evergreen tree such as juniper, spruce, fir, or cedar, be sure to consider the height and span of the plant at maturity. Though a Colorado Blue Spruce might be the height of an average Christmas tree at first, at maturity, these large evergreens can reach heights of up to 75 feet, with a spread of nearly 20 feet at the base. That could be a bit too much for many home yards, thought for a larger property, it might be quite a majestic addition.

Adding Movement

Though you might not think of grass as an interesting plant for your winter garden, you might be surprised. Many ornamental grasses are excellent choices for a winter garden, as they maintain their look throughout the winter, and some even turn lovely colors for the winter season. Additional, when the wind blows, they will move in the wind, adding an aspect of dynamic motion to your winter landscape.

Considering Bark

Certainly, deciduous trees look lovely in the spring and summer months, but you can also find varieties that will add color and dimension to your winter garden. Many deciduous trees have lovely colorful bark that can look particularly striking in a sparse winter landscape. Dogwoods and birch trees are excellent choices, due to the addition of color and texture they can bring, but you can consider other types of trees as well.

Some varieties of cherry trees will provide lovely fruit in the summer and beautiful blossoms in the spring, while also offering lovely shiny and colorful bark in the winter season. For example, Montmorency cherry trees are quite hardy for the winter months, and they have lovely dark red bark that makes a stunning contrast for the snow-covered landscape.

Add to Your Hardscape

Another way to add additional interest to your winter garden and landscape is to consider the non-plant elements. You might think about adding a trellis, garden bench, or even a sculpture to your winter garden. These elements can easily add interest to your garden in all seasons, but especially when they take on a coating of snow in the winter months.

Maintain Your Winter Garden

There are other considerations for a winter garden that go beyond choosing which types of plants to use in order to add interest. There are maintenance concerns that need to be addressed.

Winter often brings salt and other chemicals on the road, which can have an effect on plants. For those which sit close to the road, you might consider covering them to protect them from the damaging effects of excess salt. Younger deciduous should be wrapped to help prevent sun scald and frost damage as well.

You will also need to protect your trees from damage that can be caused by heavy loads of snow and ice. Take the time to remove snow from vulnerable branches that could be weakened and break under the extra weight.

With these tips, you can enjoy your landscape or garden in all seasons, not just the spring and summer!