Color in the Winter Garden

Once the chilly autumn air yields to winter's cold and snow, most people consider the garden dead and finished until spring. Although life in the garden has surely diminished, by no means is the garden through presenting wonders. A few new and creative ideas to bring color and interest to the garden now will enhance the appearance of the garden all winter.

The first step to colorful winter gardening is to reject our current ideas about winter, and the way we view our yards during this season. Although lush greens and brightly colored flowers fade, the resulting brown, russet and ochre can be just as beautiful. Color is certainly important in the winter landscape, but the underlying forms of the plants themselves take center stage.

Stripped of their summer finery, the "bones" of our trees, shrubs and perennials are prominently on view, their silhouettes striking against winter snow. Tree bark is clearly in focus. Many trees and shrubs have exfoliating bark. Exfoliating bark peels back to expose colorful layers underneath, creating colorful, textural interest all winter. Plants such as Cherries and Plums (Prunus), Paperbark Maple (Acer griseum), Sycamore and London Plane trees (Platanus), some Pine trees and many Spiraea shrubs can all add to the winter landscape with interesting bark characteristics.

If your garden relies heavily upon color in the summer, and you want to carry it over through winter, there are plants available to help you out. The bright red twigs of the Red-twigged Dogwood shrub (Cornus sericea) light up the garden. Cultivars and newer varieties of Dogwood add even more colors to the winter pallet. 'Flaviramea', with its yellow stems highlighted with intense green is sure to brighten even the dreariest winter day. Cornus sanguinea 'Winter Flame' literally looks as though it is on fire. Bright red, orange and yellow twigs heat up the landscape. Dogwood shrubs are indispensable for adding winter color.
Peggy Karpfinger, principal landscape architect at Karpfinger Landscape Architecture, likes to combine dwarf Dogwood with small-scale trees and perennials, bringing drama to the winter stage. "A lovely combination providing winter interest is as follows: 'Winter King' Hawthorn, dwarf red-twig Dogwoods, Sedum, Eryngium, and Panicum. I would arrange these so that the Hawthorn would be slightly off center, with the Dogwoods in a half circle behind the tree. The Sedum and Eryngium should be scattered in front of the tree and the Panicum behind and to the side of the Dogwood and Hawthorn," she says.

Perennial grasses such as Panicum take on endless shades of wheat, straw and tan and are often mounded in habit, catching the snow and creating pattern in the garden. Other grasses have upright, vase shaped forms, contrasting well with perennials or trees and shrubs. These plants are most effective in small groupings, backed up by other plants of differing forms. Avoiding the practice of cutting perennials and grasses down in the fall ensures a more colorful and interesting winter landscape. "A gardener who clears away dying perennials in the autumn experiences only half of the plant's beauty. Perennials display a long and subtly exquisite death," says Karpfinger.

Many ornamental trees hold their brightly colored fruit into the winter. Crabapples are great small-scale trees for urban lots. Many Crabapple varieties now carry fruit in orange, red, burgundy or yellow nearly all winter. Seek out those with the most persistent fruit, since flowers last just over a week, but fruit may hold on the tree for months. Karpfinger recommends 'Firebird' Crabapple. "It is a wonderful small-scale specimen tree with an interesting silhouette and tiny ruby-red crabapples, which are held late into the winter," she says.

Many shrubs have colorful berries as well. Snowberry (Symphoricarpos) adds early winter color with creamy round berries held on dark stems. The color stands out against the pristine whiteness of snow. Chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa) is a native shrub with the most beautiful dark and lustrous fruit, held well into January, unless consumed by hungry birds. Other shrubs such as Holly (Ilex) have evergreen leaves and bright red or orange berries the entire winter.

Another excellent way to bring color to the winter garden is by the addition of garden ornaments and garden art. What a lovely sight to look out the window and see a beautiful statue amongst last season's spent foliage. Weatherproof sculpture, birdbaths, pottery and artwork are now readily available. These sturdy new materials are able to withstand our severe winters. Whether you gaze upon a bright red sculpture or a bright mosaic birdbath, bringing in garden ornaments will punctuate your frigid landscape with playful color.

"Use trellises and tuteurs in the winter by attaching interesting stems and clusters of berries. Flowering vines will long since have died, but you can keep color in their place," says Victoria Vonier. Vonier owns Private Gardener, a downtown gardener's resource. As a designer, she also loves making berry and seed bouquets from untreated natural sources to supplement birdseed in her garden. "The arrangements look great all winter, and by spring the animals and birds have eaten all of the edible parts of the bouquets," she says.

The dead of winter is the ideal time to plan for additions of plants and ornaments since you are viewing the garden in its most simplistic form. If your garden looks good in winter, then you have achieved a high level of design in all seasons since winter reveals the underlying structure. This is the time to view your garden from both inside and outside your home. Start with the essential views into the garden from the house. Improve these views first with plants that will carry the garden into the winter, then personalize the view with the addition of sculpture or ornaments that please you. "I help my clients choose garden ornaments that reflect their individual personalities. The garden should always be an expression of its owner," says Vonier.

In smaller urban lots, it is important to realize the main view from the house will be near property lines. Concentrating color around the perimeter of the garden helps lift our spirits. "Brightly colored shrubs are gorgeous in the winter landscape. They are best planted in beds away from the house, perhaps at the property line where they provide a screen at the end of a long view over a snow covered lawn," adds Karpfinger.

Even the brightest colors in the winter garden demand closer attention then in other seasons. Minute details come into sharp focus against the bareness of the landscape. It is important to go into the garden on mild days, observing the texture of bark, the color of the many perennials you might have, and the general activity of animals. The winter shadows from our landscape plants are simply beautiful. Because the sun is low in the sky, the elongated, exaggerated shadows of trunks and branches of trees and shrubs scarcely resemble the plants from which they are cast. The shadows themselves take on hues of grey, blue and purple.

It takes a hearty winter spirit to seek out these vignettes, but the reward for those who do rivals any artistic masterpiece. A few creative additions to your yard right now can improve your garden this winter, and tucking in a few interesting, cold weather plants this spring will lift your spirits with a jolt of color in the coming winters.

Victoria Vonier compiled this list of things you can do right now to bring color to your winter landscape.

• Place a bright, kinetic sculpture in the garden for color and animation. Most kinetic sculptures operate in the slightest breeze. High quality sculptures are made of metal (such as copper) and will last for years.

• Paint old metal containers a bright color and fill with evergreens, or twigs with berries.

• Hang sprays of bright grasses, dried Celosia and Yarrow and bright berries from lampposts and garden gates.

• Freeze colored water in milk cartons leaving a "hole" or space for a votive candle. Line a pathway or place in a birdbath for a dramatic view both day and night.

• Use brightly colored jute ribbon instead of wire or burlap to protect the stems and trunks of young plants from rabbit damage.

• If you put away powder-coated metal or wood patio furniture, consider bringing it back out and setting it in a sunny corner of the garden. It will add color and provide seating on mild winter days.

• Leave colorful, weatherproof containers out all winter. Fill with Red Curly Willow twigs or other brightly colored branches. Don't be afraid to move pots around for the best effect.

Peggy Karpfinger recommends the following plants for great winter color:

• Dogwood shrubs, especially 'Winter Flame', 'Cardinal' and 'Flaviramea'.

• Crabapples (Malus) with persistent fruit such as:
  
  'Profusion' (oxblood red fruit).
  'Harvest Gold' (yellow-gold fruit).
  'Amberina' (orange fruit).
  'Firebird' (bright red fruit).

• Barberry shrubs (Berberis) for tiny, bright red fruit well into winter.

• Holly shrubs (Ilex) for evergreen foliage and long-lasting bright berries. ('Berri Magic' is a self-fruitful variety).

• 'Baby Blue Eyes' Spruce (Picea) for non-fading blue-grey needles all winter.

• Low growing Euonymus plants which will have winter leaves varying from green, yellow and gold to red and purple, depending on the variety.

• Hydrangea shrubs, the dried flowerheads adding beauty and color especially when adorned with frost and snow.

Resources

Private Gardener Stores
(Colorful containers, Garden Art, Design Resource)
190 North Broadway
Milwaukee, WI 53202
(414) 223-4747

424 East Wisconsin Ave
Milwaukee, WI 53202
(414) 289-7789

1380 West Mequon Road 112N
Mequon, WI 53092
(262) 241-0909

Karpfinger Landscape Architecture
(Landscape Design)
(414) 374-3666
pegkarpfinger@wi.rr.com

Johnson's Nursery
(Landscape Plants for Winter Color)
W180 N627 Marcy Road
Menomonee Falls, WI 53051
(262) 252-4988

Minor's Garden Center
7777 North 76th Street
Milwaukee, WI 53223
(414) 354-4886