Winter Color in the Garden Bed

Now that autumn is here and we are planting beds with mums, cabbages, kales and other seasonal color plants, we often get asked “what can we use for winter color”?

I always say use evergreens to add winter interest to garden and landscaped beds. They come in a variety of colors from shades of green to shades of silvers and blues. Try utilizing a colorado blue spruce for a pop of color this winter, accented by yews, golden arborvitae and blue junipers. All of these add color, texture and foliage to your garden and landscaped beds providing winter color throughout the season.

You can accent the evergreens with hollies, snowberries, various viburnums and grasses, which also add interest to winter landscapes. Many of these have berries which add a small but noticeable amount of color to the backdrop and also provide food for and bring in the birds. Plant a mix of evergreen perennials and ornamental grasses for late winter colors.

Some mahonias — leatherleaf mahonia (Mahonia bealei) and selected cultivars of M. x media — bloom in winter; these shrubs are hardy in USDA Zones (6)7 to 9. A close relative, Oregon grape holly (M. aquifolium) flowers in early spring and is hardy to USDA (4)5.

The flower buds of Pieris japonica persist from fall through winter. Give this evergreen shrub moist, well-drained, acid, organic soil. In the South, site it in shade. USDA Zones 4b to 7. Winter jasmine (Jasminum nudiflorum) blooms in January, making it a great candidate for creating a mid-winter color splash on retaining walls and banks. Hardy in USDA Zones (5)6 to 10. Abelia — sometimes deciduous but usually evergreen, Abelias have foliage that takes on rich winter colors. Plant them in full sun for the best colors.

Leucothoe — This is a wonderful plant that should be in a lot more yards than it is. It’s a great “woodland” looking plant that has glossy foliage with white bell shaped flowers in spring. Normally sold as a shade plant, it will do just fine in sun if the soil is enriched with compost and adequate moisture is provided. Stems are arching to 2-3 feet tall and 4-5 feet wide. The leaves emerge bronze, turn dark green in the summer and then return to a reddish-bronze in the winter.

Almost Perfect Landscaping of Bergen County specializes in landscape design and build and can show you how to have a colorful landscape even in the dead of winter.

almost PERFECT Landscaping of Bergen County

(201) – 389 – 6979