Not too long ago, a friend (and loyal reader) asked me a great question: “Eric, is there something we can do to make our winter landscape less boring?”
I smiled and said, “Absolutely!” Winter can feel a bit dull when everything fades to pastel — and let’s be honest, winter in Ohio is usually anywhere from 70- to 90-percent cloudy. Most days are just plain overcast.
Did you know Ohio averages 194 cloudy days a year? Still, it could be worse; at least we’re not in Cold Bay, Alaska, where they get a whopping 304 cloudy days.
Sure, everyone was excited for Christmas last month, but the reality is, these days are often just gray and cold.
Winter has officially begun, maybe we’ve even set a few snowfall records, and it’s easy to wonder: what can actually lift our spirits when we look out at the garden this time of year?
A Winter Aconite can add color to the gray months. Credit: Eric Larson
The Ohio Nursery and Landscape Association offered a class by the former founding president of the Ohio chapter of the Association of Professional Landscape Designers, and I took several classes with her.
These soft days or pastel days of winter need some help to increase the excitement in the gardens?
I was taught that it was very important to design gardens that would have some color and pop all year long.
As a designer, I get bored looking at this kind of landscape for any extended period.
When I come to a person’s home, I focus on that person’s interests first and work to find ways to mesh my knowledge of plants with what excites them to bring life to their dreams.
Flowers always say, “Welcome to my home,” as far as I’m concerned, and I care about who comes to my door. To think of all the holidays we have just celebrated.
Most of my clients have some flowers in the entry garden or border as they come to the front door. What is difficult is that for many people who entertain this time of year, you just don’t have any flowers or color to draw people to your door.
As with any other artist, I have many ideas for bringing color and life to a winter landscape.
One of my favorite methods is to plant some of the brilliant red winterberry hollies in front of a yew. The dark yew, which is an evergreen, acts as a backdrop, and a brilliant red ‘Sprite’ winterberry holly will make the berries truly stand out and give them what will look like another dimension.
Snow drops are shown here in winter. Credit: Eric Larson
Since I have been designing landscapes for some time now, I have used this method of designing to make my landscapes pop. Interesting grasses, barks, berries, twigs, and evergreens that aren’t always green are what I use to help make my designs exciting.
When I’m designing a four-season landscape for a client, I focus on selecting plants, structural enhancements like statues, and seasonal planning to achieve a consistent aesthetic.
For winter interest, I have selected witch hazel, snowdrops, Winter Aconite, Daphne, and a variety of other early-blooming plants. Just as with winterberry hollies, I like to place these plantings with a darker yew to make the color stand out.
Over the years, I have also installed a variety of trees for the bark. For instance, I have a Purple Prince River Birch. This tree is unusual in that it has purple leaves and is a dwarf among the river birches.
I have always enjoyed this birch at this time of year for its papery bark on the tree’s trunk. I also have both Redosier dogwood and Japanese Kerria in my yard, and both are noted for the color of their twigs.
My Kerria has green twigs, and my dogwood has red twigs. For the best color of the twigs, you need to faithfully prune these plants each year.
Pergolas, trellises, and fences can also provide a structural element where you could train a bittersweet vine or other vine to climb to bring more interest into your yard for the winter.
When you are in the middle of winter, you can start planning ways to combat boredom. I hope that you have a nice stroll through your garden this week and make some plans for your landscape for next year.
If you have a problem in your yard, send me an e-mail at ericlarson546@yahoo.com.
Credits: https://landscapingduty.com/designing-your-yard-for-year-round-beauty/
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