Landscaping For Year-Round Interest Part 4
Dull, drab, and brown. That’s what many landscape beds look like in the winter, except for an evergreen bush or two. But there’s no reason your landscape bed has to look boring during the coldest time of the year. With a little planning, it’s possible to design a landscape that’s beautiful in every season.
You’re reading the last post in a four-part blog series that will help you create low-maintenance, year-round interest in your landscaping. This week, we talk about the winter months.
Foliage and Seedpods
Some of the perennials you planted for summer and fall will leave interesting seed heads in the winter garden. These include coneflowers, sedum, and certain varieties of alliums. Letting plants go to seed and leaving the dead flower heads up also provides seeds that can attract colorful birds to the garden.
Ornamental grasses can also provide winter interest. Some just flop to the ground at the end of the growing season, but others like Miscanthus species stay upright and leave attractive dried flower heads in the garden. If you like the way they look, feel free to let them stay until the grass starts to grow back in the spring.
Time For Evergreens
Evergreen plants look good all year-round, but they truly shine in the winter landscape. Some evergreens, like certain rhododendrons and magnolias, also bloom in the spring garden. Others are grown mainly for their interesting foliage.
- Barberry – several barberries are evergreen and they offer unique foliage colors that last all year, including red and yellow. Check the USDA hardiness zones for each variety to make sure they grow in your area.
- Holly – Yaupon holly (Ilex vomitoria, zones 7-10) and Nellie R. Stevens hollies (Ilex x ‘Nellie R. Stevens’, zones 6-9) are available in tree or bush forms. They provide boldly textured dark green foliage all year and the female plants display attractive bright-red berries in the winter.
- Juniper – eastern redcedar juniper (Juniperus virginiana, zones 2-9) can be grown as a screening tree. Other varieties are available in bush-form and there’s a wide range of foliage colors and plant styles out there.
Winter Flowers
Texas gardeners don’t have to go without flowers during the winter months. You can plant cool-weather annuals like pansies, violas, dianthus, alyssum, and primrose for color that will last through winter and spring. Some of these plants, including dianthus and primrose, might stop blooming if the temperature dips below 32 degrees. You can get around this by planting them in containers and bringing the plants in if there’s a frost in the forecast.
Paper whites (Narcissus tazetta) and snowdrops (Galanthus spp.) are spring-blooming bulbs that can start flowering in December or January for Texas gardeners. Some shrubs also bloom in the winter. Check out leatherleaf mahonia (Mahonia bealei, zones 6-9), the evergreen Jacqueline Postill daphne (Daphne bholua ‘Jacqueline Postill’, zones 7-9), and winter jasmine (Jasminum nudiflorum, zones 5-10).
Cool-Weather Yard Tips
If you’re planting winter annuals, make sure you add a slow-release fertilizer to the soil. Winter is also a good time to trim dormant trees and shrubs and redefine flower beds. And if you’re not using your lawn equipment, be sure to take the time to clean and store it properly.
Catch up on previous posts in the series here:
