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Landscape Designer/Gardener
ISCO Landscaping
Wilson, North Carolina
SCC Landscape Gardening Graduate
The Winter Garden:
Choosing Plants That Shine
Through the Gloomiest Season
by Joshua Peede
When thinking about trees, shrubs, and
flowers in the landscape, we often consider
the warm days of spring and summer that
unfold an array of colorful blooms leaving us
stunned as we stand in awe of nature’s relentless
determination to serve its created purpose. But
on the contrary, how many times do we see the
beauty of winter’s nature? Believe it or not, there
are quite a few plants that really put on a show in
the coldest season of the year. If you’ll stay with
me for a few moments, I would love to introduce
a good number of plants that give interest in
the coldest months, through their flower, fruit,
foliage, and even stems or bark.
Winter is a time of year that includes some
decorative holidays that require a fresh, tabletop
arrangement of cuttings from the landscape.
Beginning with plants that set good fruit or
berries, we will look at some great selections
that will serve this very purpose. The plants
listed below are at their best during the winter
months, showing off their colorful fruit.
American Beautyberry: Reaching a height
and width of about 6 feet, this native, deciduous
shrub shows off its clusters of berries at each
stem node as they turn a deep purple at the time
of leaf drop around late October—a great choice
for cutting.
Winterberry Holly: As a deciduous holly,
this native shrub can reach a height of 12 feet,
but be sure to plant at least one male plant with
the female plants in order to have bright red
berries all winter long. They attract birds, are
great for cut arrangement, and grow well in wet
areas.
Firethorn/Pyracantha: Many times
trained to grow vertically on a wall, this thornbearing
shrub of 8-12 feet also sets huge clusters
of red-orange berries. It is a good plant to
admire from a distance but a true show stopper
in winter.
Nandina: This well known, but maybe
under-appreciated evergreen shrub can reach
heights of 6-8 feet if unpruned. It begins setting
large clusters of green berries that turn bright
red, as night temperatures drop, just in time for
the Christmas season. Its evergreen qualities
make it a good selection as a foundation shrub.
Mahonia/Grape-Holly: There are many
varieties of mahonia that reach different heights,
with different sized leaves. All mahonias are
evergreen with beautiful yellow flower spikes
in fall that yield many blue, grape-like berries
through winter. These berries are often a favorite
of birds as well. Some notable varieties of
mahonia to consider are ‘Narihira,’ ‘Soft Caress,’
‘Winter Sun,’ and ‘Marvel.’
Hollies: There are many varieties of hollies
that showcase their bright red berries in the
winter, but let me list some of my favorites
beginning with the smallest maturing size at 15
feet and the largest at 40 feet. They are Yaupon
Holly, Blue Holly, Robin Holly, Foster Holly,
Nellie R. Stevens Holly, and Savannah Holly.
Most of these will work well for cut arrangements
in winter plus they are all evergreen.
Poet’s Laurel: Poet’s Laurel is a spray-like
shrub that matures at a height of 3-4 feet and
is noted for its long lasting stems in cut flower
arrangements. It is fairly slow growing, bears 3/4
inch red berries in winter, does best in shade or
morning sun, and is evergreen.
These plants listed above are just a few good
selections for your yard. You don’t only want
great berry producers, but plants with desirable
foliage as well, both for observation in nature
as well as home décor. These next choices have
qualities that distinguish them for this purpose.
Deodar Cedar: As one of the hardiest
cedars in the south, the Deodar Cedar is an
excellent choice in the landscape because of
its blue-green foliage and graceful appearance.
This tree can stand as high as 75 feet. Foliage can
also be used to add interest and contrast in cut
arrangements.
Poet’s Laurel: See reference above. Used for
foliage and fruit.
Gold Mop Chamaecyparis: This is a fairly
common plant in the garden centers but is still a
good selection with its draping, gold, thread-like
foliage that pairs up well in the landscape as well
as cut arrangements, next to some broadleaf
dark green foliage with red berries. Gold Mop
can reach 12 feet in height.
Southern Magnolia: Though they bloom
in spring and summer, there is nothing like the
presence of an old magnolia among the many
deciduous hardwoods that are sleeping for the
winter. Foliage can be cut and used in so many
decorative ways as well. The broad leaves create
a nice background that will complement most
any other companion.
Yew & Podocarpus: Yew and Podocarpus
are two similar evergreen shrubs in the fact
that they have bristle-like, narrow leaves
that are whorled around each stem. This fine
textured look contrasts well with plants like the
magnolia, in both landscape plantings as well as
cut arrangements.
Aucuba/Gold Dust Plant: There are a few
different varieties of this broadleaf, evergreen
plant called Aucuba. The different varieties
come with leaves that are solid green, cream
with green borders, and even green speckled
with gold. This plant does well in part to full
shade, and does not do well in areas that stay wet.
With some good choices that showcase fruit
and foliage in our minds, let’s take note of a few
plants that have showy bark or stems. Following
are a few to consider.
Curly European Filbret: This deciduous
plant is considered to be a large shrub but takes
on more of the look of a small tree as it matures
with its corkscrew branching. This is a great
plant to incorporate alongside a small pond or
stream with is low and graceful branches.
Coral Bark Maple: This Japanese Maple
matures at 15-20 feet and has chartreuse colored
leaves that transition to yellow in fall. The winter
interest comes as soon as the leaves drop, and
the fiery red bark is revealed. This adds an
element in the garden that is hard to beat.
Red Twig Dogwood: This dogwood is
actually a shrub, not a tree. It can reach 5-8 feet
tall and also has beautiful red branches like the
maple mentioned above. Consider planting in
an area that receives morning sun.
Crape Myrtle: One plant that everyone in
the south is familiar with is the Crape Myrtle.
Although usually planted for its beautiful
summer bloom, there are varieties with
gorgeous cinnamon colored bark like ‘Miami,’
‘Natchez,’ and ‘Fantasy.’
With many detailed descriptions above,
we established a good portfolio of selections
that are sure to add interest to the garden and
home, but I can’t let you go yet without briefly
telling you about some early bloomers that span
from late December to early March. If you are
looking for a medium to large shrub that blooms
in this cold season, consider Witch Hazel with
its red, orange or yellow fringe-like blooms,
or Edgeworthia with its interesting white and
yellow blooms that hang toward the ground.
Maybe Winter Honeysuckle, a large shrub that
has dainty white flowers with an amazing, sweet
fragrance will peak your interest. Also, flowering
quince and cold hardy camellias will catch your
eye. Consider ‘Winter Snowman,’ ‘Winter’s Star,’
or ‘Crimson Candles,’ three Camellia varieties
that are sure not to let you down.
If you are considering a small tree, then
think about using Flowering Apricot, Cornelian
Cherry Dogwood, or one of many varieties of
Redbud. At last, let’s not forget about the bulbs
and perennials that bloom early, like crocus,
daffodil, and Lenten Rose. For those of us who
love to garden and see nature’s beauty year
round, maybe something said in this article will
help you spice up your winter garden and help it
to stand out a little more this dormant season.
Please feel free to email me with ideas for future
articles. Thanks for reading and happy gardening!
Let me know what you would like to read about.
Email: homegrowngazette@gmail.com
No. 129 The Pinehurst Gazette, Inc. p.29
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