Plants For Winter Interest

[amid chaos]

Winter is often pictured as a bleak, desolate time, but with the right combination of plants, you can create interest in your garden even in the middle of winter. The following shrubs and perennials are suggestions to help add interest to your winter landscape:
* Hansa Shrub Rose: Displasy large rosehips.
* Glossy Black Chokeberry: Black fruit holds well in winter.
* Red Twig Dogwood: Deep red stems – a must for any winter garden!
* Cardinal Dogwood: Bright red stems look excellent with an evergreen backdrop.
* PeeGee Hydragea: Flowers dry well indoors or out.
* Winterberry: Persistant fruit holds well and is great for attracting wildlife.
* Nannyberry: Excellent winter food source for birds.
* Evergreens: All evergreens add winter interest and color. Use evergreens of different heights interlaced with other winter-colorful shrubs and perennials.
* Ornamental Grasses: Most varieties add sound color and sight to your winter garden.
* Autumn Joy Sedum: Flower heads preserve well throughout the winter.

 

[Snowwark]

Climbing hydrangea looks good too, the branches are all twisted and gnarled, very cool!

BTW - My Autumn Joy sedum looks great right now, anyone else have some in all it's glory?

 

[Mamu]

Don't forget the winter flowering Erica Heaths.

A backdrop of red and yellow twig dogwoods and Erica Heath makes for a beautiful winter scene.

Winter Heath's come in many shades of pinks, lilacs and whites. They bloom right through the winter, even under the snow.

Heath and Heather

 

[DixieDreamer]

I like to let my coneflower patch keep their cones all through the winter. The stalks and seedheads are beautiful with a blanket of snow contrasting with them.

 

[gina2000]

Harry Lauder's Walking Stick tree. I've always wanted one. I'd forgotten about it until I opened this thread.

Take a peek!

http://plantsdatabase.com/showpicture/3101/

 

[Snowwark]

Thank you for the great links Mamu and Gina. I really really really need to have a bigger garden!

Gina, at first I didn't know what plant you were talking about, way up here () we alway refer to them as a Corkscrew Hazel.

 

[cgcw]

My Autumn Joy sedum is also in full bloom. It does look pretty but because of the size, it's starting to branch out quite a bit. I think I'll have to divide it in the spring. Guess I'll just add some to that new bed I've been struggling with!

 

[Snowwark]

I need to divide my sedum too, cgcw. I don't really have any other place to put it, but my DM has a new bed so I think we'll put some there in the spring.

It should be a great addition to your new garden!

 

[thatcats]

My Sedum (also called ice plant) is in full bloom too - so nice to have a beautiful pink colour in the garden at this time of year - it grows so well though that I have had to split it 3 times already (I've had it 4 years).

This is not mine but a very similar one.

 

[Snowwark]

You obviously know how to keep your plants happy thatcats!

Very nice pic, thank you!