Winter is dreaming season! Great Plants for Winter Interest

For gardeners, winter is a time to relax, rejuvenate and dream of the upcoming growing season.  It’s also the time of year that we spend the most time indoors.  For me, my gardens need to be as spectacular during the winter months as they are the rest of the year. 

In our northern climate, each season offers so much excitement.  With the arrival of spring comes beautiful tulips, daffodils and hyacinths.  The Magnolias and Serviceberries are in bloom and all the buds on the trees and shrubs start fattening up, ready to explode.  The Summer months provide us with the colourful blooms of daylilies, echinacea, rudbeckia as well as an abundance of fruit from raspberries, strawberries and blueberries.  The crescendo arrives in Fall, with a spectacular display of foliage, seed pods and fall fruit harvest.  

With all the visual and textural interest that Spring, Summer and Fall offer us, why do we expect so little from our winter gardens?  By adding plants that have architectural interest year-round you will guarantee that your winter garden is as beautiful as the rest of year. 

Great plants for winter interest.

Shrubs

Add shrubs that have interesting twigs and buds.  Here are my go-to shrubs for winter interest:

• Red or yellow twig Dogwood (Cornus sp.)  Very common shrub that offers great winter interest with its yellow or red twigs, depending on the variety. 
• Minigold Fiesta Forsythia (Forsythia intermedia ‘Fiesta’) Although this Forsythia isn’t the best with Spring blooms (unless we have a very mild winter), I grow it for it’s green and yellow variegated Summer foliage, and yellow orange dense branching for winter interest.
• Dwarf Larch (Larix ‘Steuben’ or ‘Lanark’) I love the branches on all Larch, but if you’re looking for something more compact, these 2 varieties offer a soft texture during the growing season, and nubby branching in the winter months.
• Contorted Hazel (Corylus avellana ‘Contorta’) has coarse, contorted branches.  This large shrub is slow growing but earns its place in the winter garden.
• Curly Willow (Salix ‘Scalet Curls’) is a very fast-growing shrubby tree with fantastic curly branching.  Remember to place this plant far from a septic bed and that it is more tree-like than shrub (up to 30’ in height).
• Magnolias (Magnolia sp.) can be considered a shrub or small tree, depending on the variety.  Regardless of the cultivar, prune the structure open to fully appreciate the smooth bark and structure of this beautiful shrubby tree in the winter.  It’s fuzzy flower buds also stand out beautifully!

Trees 

The trunk and branching structure of deciduous trees add weight and a very strong visual break to the winter landscape.  Here are a few trees with interesting bark, branch structure and form:

• Beech (Fagus sp.) have very long, pointy buds and many have persistent foliage through the winter months.  I personally love the pyramidal shape Fagus sylvatica ‘Red Obelisk’ 
• Ginkgo ‘Pendula’
• Larch (Larix sp.) are one of my favourite trees, regardless of the season.  If you want to add some very interesting architecture to your garden, consider Weeping Larch (Larix ‘Pendula’), Contorted Larch (Larix ‘Diana’) and Varied Directions Larch (Larix ‘Varied Directions)
• Birch (Betula sp.) have very interesting bark year-round, but the white peeling bark really stands out in the winter landscape.  Betula nigra ‘Heritage’ is a large tree that resists the birch borer and has beautiful cinnamon coloured peeling bark.  For a vertical accent, Betula ‘Dakota Pinnacle’ or Betula ‘Parkland Pilla’ are gaining in popularity and becoming more readily available.
• Crabapples (Malus sp.) offer multiple seasons of interest.  Many people mention they don’t want to have a mess in their lawn with the dropping fruit and therefore forego adding Crabapples to their yard.  Keep in mind that there are many varieties that have persistent small fruit that hang on through the winter months and offer a wonderful source of food to our feathered friends.  

Evergreens

Evergreens are an absolute must in my garden designs.  I will always incorporate at least 30% evergreen plants to ensure structure and year-round interest.  There are so many full-size and dwarf conifers that add so much joy to the winter gardens.  Don’t forget that evergreens also offer our bird friends a safe home throughout the winter months.

When incorporating evergreens, be mindful of playing one texture off another.  For instance, a Pine placed in front of another Pine gets lost, but a Pine placed in front of a Spruce will contrast beautifully.  Here’s a list of a few of my favourites, but the list goes on and on:

• Cedars (Thuja sp.)  are a hardy alternative with many shapes and colours available.
  • Thuja ‘Fire Chief’ – Beautiful year-round colour, changing from limey-golden summer colour to fiery orange red in the winter months 
  • Thuja ‘Linesville’ has great texture and a cute little ball shape, offering a great alternative to Boxwoods
• Pines (Pinus sp.) add a very soft texture to any garden.  A few of my faves:
  • Pinus strobus ‘Pumila’ (White Pine) is a very compact, globe-shaped pine that is a fantastic addition to any garden.
  • Pinus nigra ‘Hornibrookiana’ (Austrian Pine) has a coarser texture than White Pine with its long, dark green needles and distinctive white growing tips.  Allow 5’ space for this low growing beauty.
  • Pinus sylvestris ‘Wolting’s Gold’ (Scots Pine) is a smaller version of the full-grown species but turns a stunning golden yellow in the winter months.  It then reverts to green in the summer.  Spectacular!
  • Pinus resinosa ‘Morel’ (Red Pine) looks like a teddy bear to me with it’s irregular mounding form and soft green needles.
• Spruce (Picea sp.) are a tough plant that offers a coarse texture to any garden or landscape
  • Picea abies ‘Pendula’ (Weeping Norway Spruce) is quite variable in form and can be easily manipulated to stay either low and prostrate, or trained to add some height to a garden.
  • Picea omorika ‘Nana’ (Dwarf Serbian Spruce) offers a blue-green foliage and is a great dwarf, globe shaped addition to the garden
  • Picea pungens ‘The Blues’ (Weeping Blue Spruce) is spectacular with its unusual growth and dense blue pendulous branching.  
  • Picea glauca ‘Pendula’ (Weeping White Spruce) provides a very strong, tall vertical accent requiring very little space (3’ diameter) to any garden.  What a beauty!

Perennials and Ornamental Grasses

And finally, don’t forget that many perennials offer winter interest as well.  I leave my Sedum, Echinacea, Allium and Rudbeckia standing in the winter to provide food for the birds and enjoy the tufts of snow that land on them.

Many Ornamental Grasses can also stand up to snow load, such as Miscanthus, Schizachyrium, Panicum and Seslaria.  All of these can be left standing to provide movement and a beautiful golden hue to the winter garden.

As the days get longer this winter, embrace this time to plan your winter garden for next year.  Winter really is the only time of the year that you see the structure without all the noise of other plants.  It’s dreaming season!