Beyond Blooms for Winter Color
Ah, another snowstorm! Why not look at the bright side? There’s nothing quite like a blanket of snow to showcase plants with winter interest in your garden. Yes, I know it sounds like a stretch to look at the “sunny” side of snow in our back yards, but trust me on this! You can look at snow like a blank canvas, or if you are like me you never did pick up the last big pile of leaves you raked in the fall, it’s more like throwing a sheet over a mess when company comes over!
The structure of plants can really pop against a plain background. There is plenty of sexy structure that keeps the garden interesting during these downtimes. None of these “I want it” plants listed below are difficult to grow, get too large, or only look great in the winter. You’ll enjoy them year-round with a secret little smile knowing that come winter, the best is yet to come. Here are my favorites for multi-season appeal
Red Twig Dogwood
Grow a garden that goes beyond green with the help of a fast-growing red twig dogwood. Its red stems up the ante during a white winter. Gardens need more than greens. What’s greater than green in garden speak? Getting a variety of colors in all seasons with one fast-growing plant called red twig dogwood!
The twists and bends of roaring red twigs when snow takes over the greenery absolutely makes this a “I must have it!”
Creamy white flowers bloom in late spring followed by white berries which ripen in mid-summer. Leaves turn reddish purple in fall, but it’s the red stems in winter that are this plant’s calling card. In full sun to partial shade it can reach up to 6 ft tall and 5 ft wide, but is super easy to prune down to size. I mass them in open spaces where the red branches can be appreciated most.
Crabapple (Malus)
I am often asked to recommend a tree to mark special occasions. From weddings, births of new babies and memorials to mark a life well lived, we need a tree to commemorate special events in our lives. Of course, such auspicious occasions demand a particularly special tree; one that looks good year-round, is easy to grow in almost all yards and landscapes, and attracts wildlife.The recommendation is easy – it has to be a crab apple.
Crab apples are essentially the same as apples except that they bear smaller, tarter fruits. The trees themselves have a relaxed, open habit that offers both shelter and food for visiting birds. They can easily be under-planted with shade-loving perennials.
Crabapples bloom white, pink and varying shades of red in early spring. Many have reddish green foliage for the summer and fall offers brightly colored fruit that persists through winter, providing wonderful forage for birds. The trees are small, maturing to 20 ft and are super easy to grow!
Paperbark Maple
(Acer griseum)
The cinnamon-brown, exfoliating bark is the star of this tree’s winter show. Young stems are deep, luxuriant brown to reddish brown, and usually begin to exfoliate in their second year. Mature stems exfoliate in thin sheets, revealing rich reddish-brown tones beneath. Old trunks lose some of their exfoliating character, but retain the striking color. A frosting of snow is the perfect complement to the richly colored bark!
Paperbark maple grows best in full sun to part shade and can mature at 25 ft tall with a 15ft width. I love the smaller size, open habit, soft-green leaves, and scarlet fall foliage, but I grow it for the papery sheets of bark that peel to reveal cinnamon-brown new bark. Plant it anywhere you can enjoy the beautiful bark!
Hamamelis (Witch hazel)
Witch hazel is a native shrub that blooms from January to March adding winter interest in any landscape. Most gardeners don’t realize it, but witch hazel has a slight fragrance when the bloom colors can range from deep bronzey-red to yellow during the winter. I recommend planting them near entries and patios to enjoy the fragrance. The flowers with wavy clear yellow petals and red cups appear on the bare branches to add blazing color to the winter landscape.
An added bonus is they also have great fall foliage color with yellow to deep red leaves. The history and lore surrounding Witch hazel can also provide interesting conversation! The most interesting use for this plant is the use of forked limbs as dowsing or divining rods. Early European settlers observed Native Americans using American witchhazel to find underground sources of water. This activity is probably where the common name witch hazel came from.
And there is more! Witch hazel is a topical astringent derived from the bark and leaves of this plant!. Native Americans have long recognized the medicinal properties of witch hazel and used a concoction of the boiled plant parts to treat skin irritations and tumors. Nowadays this popular herbal remedy is recognized world-wide as a natural cleanser and toner and can be found for sale in every pharmacy.
Ilex verticillata (Winterberry)
When most people think of holly, they picture the bright red berries and glossy evergreen foliage of Christmas decorations. So when I talk to people about planting winterberry they look at me as if the cheese has slid off my cracker (my dad says that and it seems to have stuck with me after the Holiday visit). It is because many people consider deciduous holly an oxymoron. A holly has glossy evergreen leaves, right! No, not always.
Ilex verticillata, or Winterberry is our native, wetland holly that loses it leaves in the fall. This beautiful shrub is all the more showy because its lack of winter leaves makes its berry display all the more dramatic. After the leaves have turned yellow and have fallen off, we get a breathtaking view of thousands of brightly colored berries clinging to every stem. It’s refreshing to have such color in the middle of winter.
Winterberry is my go to for knock out color in the garden all winter.
Hellebore (Lenten Rose)
No garden is complete without a few of spring’s first bloomers, the hellebores. Just when you think the snow and gloom of winter will never end, up they come in late winter to show you there is hope! My favorites are commonly known as Lenten or Christmas rose because they bloom around the time of Lent, these hybrids are produced by crossing two of the various species of hellebores.
That’s a lot of joy for a plant that takes so little space, blooms in shade, requires minimal care, and did I mention deer don’t typically munch on them?
Plants with winter interest are noted for their ability to brighten or add flare to a landscape during the coldest months in New England. Some are noted for their berries, some for their bark, and some for other reasons but all will add interest during those otherwise stark times of year.
Even though spring is a long way off, an early bloom or bright spot of color is a welcomed reminder of what’s to come. Everyone needs a good dose of inspiration and color during the cold, dark days of winter.
All our best,
Michelle and Team Lakeview
