What makes a plant popular for winter landscapes in the snowy regions of the globe? Are conifers the sole contestants? Which landscaping plants are automatically disqualified? Which shrubs are best for attracting wild birds? Answering such questions should help generate landscaping ideas for dealing with that Scrooge of the seasonal landscapes, horticulturally speaking: the winter landscape. Our goal is to turn a drab winter landscape into a winter scene worth painting — for that matter, worth looking at while you’re snow shoveling!
While evergreen shrubs and conifer trees undeniably add visual interest to winter landscapes, so do many other plants, such as red osier dogwoods. About the only plants that are disqualified right at the outset are those that lack any appreciable height: no matter how pretty a plant may be, it will add no visual interest to the winter landscape if it lies buried all winter, dwarfed by a blanket of snow. Based on this premise, let’s explore ideas to enhance the winter landscape. And let’s keep in mind all the while the fact that many landscaping enthusiasts are also bird watchers; so that a plant’s ability to attract wild birds will be a consideration.
A winning plant for winter landscapes will have one or more of the following characteristics:
- Contains colorful berries that attract birds for bird watching
- Readily catches snow in its branches
- Exhibits a delicate structure
- Is clad in a bark that is colorful or that has an unusual texture
- Bears evergreen foliage
- Has an interesting branching pattern
By David Beaulieu, About.com Guide