The winter garden

It always makes me a little sad when all the outdoor Christmas lights are put away for the year.  The yard seems bare and plain.  It was sunny and warmer today (above zero!) so I took a walk around the yard and realized that it's full of interesting sights.  Not the bling of Christmas lights, but still beautiful.  Of course it is - I planned it that way!

We in Wisconsin only have five or six months to spend out in our yards.  The rest of the year, the garden can still be enjoyed from the window.  It takes some of the dreariness out of winter days to look out and see something besides solid white. But it takes some planning when it's warm to set your landscape up with winter interest.  This spring, in addition to picking out new plants to try and arranging pots on the deck, think about what you'd like to see out your windows in winter 2016.  Here are some things you might want add to your landscape so that next winter you'll enjoy your yard for all 12 months.

Garden art is instant color and form.  Gazing balls come in so many gorgeous colors.  I want them all!  Bottle trees add a pop of cheerful color.  Unpainted metal sculptures are a more subtle focal point.

This is a driftwood "sculpture".

Sturdy vines like this trumpet vine have a sculptural form in winter.

This crane gets lost amid the summer foliage.  I forget he's there until winter.

A sundial makes an interesting focal point.

Cement scupltures hold up well in our harsh weather.

Not all grasses are hardy in our winters.  Check before you buy.

There are lots of  landscape plants you can enjoy year-round.  If you don't have any hardy tall grasses in your garden, you need some! Plant them in the front yard where you'll see them waving in the wind every time you leave your house or come home.

      

     

River birches look great in winter.  The peeling bark is more apparent when the leaves have fallen.

When you're cleaning up your garden in fall, leave some sturdy perennials standing. 

The flower heads of coneflower and hydrangeas will look good until spring.

If you want to see something green in winter (besides conifers) plant holly or yucca.

For some color, yellow and redtwig dogwoods stand out in the snow.

For subtle winter beauty, add some rock to your garden.  I love how the snow drapes over our rock retaining walls.

  

I didn't notice that I forgot to bring this little guy inside for the winter until I wondered what that thing was sticking out of the snow.  He's going to be upset!

Designing With Color

     When adding new plants to the garden, it's so tempting to want something new and different.  What we already have seems boring.,  We want to mix it up a little!    Many people add to their gardens a little at a time with one or two of each new plant.  After doing this for a while, they realize that it doesn't look the way they had envisioned their yard to be, but they aren't sure what 's wrong.  It turned out to be a mish-mash of colors, heights and shapes without a unifying theme.
    
     One way to avoid this look is to choose a color palette for each area of your yard.  When there are too many colors in one space, the eye can't rest in any one place.  You are bombarded with so much stimulus, that you don't know where to look.  A garden that is limited in color appears more unified and soothing.  It can be difficult to be selective about color choices.  There are so many gorgeous plants and we want them all!  If you want, you can have them all - just not in the same part of your landscape.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is my front yard garden.  It's shades of purple, blue, pink. and white.  I don't feel limited at all.  There are so many variations in size, texture and height and the garden changes continually from May to September.  It never looks the same two weeks in a row.

 

 







 





 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These are things that are in bloom currently.  Later in summer there will be many other plants in similar shades, so that as one ceases to provide color, another will take over.  The garden will tranistion into fall, finishing with purple asters and pink Clara Curtis daisies. 






Meanwhile, the backyard is blooming in warm  colors - shades of yellow, orange, and red.  You can have every color of the rainbow!  More on the topic of a unified garden design in my next post.