If you look out your window at the landscape, you are probably seeing either snow, frost or the brown remains of last season’s garden. Would you like to see some green out there during this winter time of the year? Here are a few plants you can put in your garden this spring that will bring lovely greenery to your yard in the dead of winter!
Holly is a really wonderful plant year-round, but it is most beautiful in winter. With its glossy leaves and berries that will lure your favorite winter birds, it is a natural for your yard. Consider planting some American holly options, like Castle Spire, because it’s more adaptable to a wider range of growing conditions than English holly.
Coral Bells (Heuchera) is another all-season favorite; although it flowers in the spring with graceful spikes, it is the beautiful foliage that we most appreciate about this perennial. Heuchera americana ‘Marvelous Marble’ is a particularly beautiful variety, although coral bells do come in a rainbow of foliage colors. This plant works well in containers as well as beds, and prefers some shade. They will attract hummingbirds in the summer!
Green Mountain boxwood (buxus) is a terrific choice for a backyard of any size, because it reaches a maximum height of about 5 feet. Its dense upright form can be used as a shrub, hedge or even in a container. You can prune it annually into any shape you like. You can enjoy its greenery all winter, and it is really pretty in the snow!
Pruning plants is also best done in the morning; again, it is the time when stems and leaves are stiffer. Cutting limp plants can cause poor cuts and the cuts won’t heal over as quickly later in the day because sap flow is slower. Of course, when cuts don’t heal, insects and diseases can easily invade the plant.
Hellebore (Hellebonis) is a cold loving plant that will reward you with flowers in the winter. It can survive in full or partial shade, and it is actually available in our area with green blooms. This plant’s showy flowers begin mid-to-late winter, and it also has dark green foliage which will stay green all winter as well. To keep it looking good, clean up and remove the dead leaves in the summer.
Bronze Anniversary abelia (Abelia grandifiora) is a good choice for year-round gardens because it is resistant to deer. Simply prune it a bit in late winter or early spring and it will reward you with dainty white flowers which attract bees, butterflies and birds. Abelia’s foliage is always changing and its foliage is a good addition to your winter garden.
Creeping phlox (Phlox subulata), a fabulous ground cover, is a smaller relative of the fragrant garden phiox. It’ll do best in full sun and well-drained soil and is heat- and drought-tolerant. This easy-care perennial is a natural for rock gardens and a great nectar source for butterflies. Creeping phlox tops out at only 6 inches high and forms a cascading carpet of purple, white, apricot or bicolor blooms in spring. The blossoms will eventually die out, but the green foliage will remain throughout the year.
One final plant is a majestic addition to any yard; the Emerald arborvitae (Thuja occidentalis) makes a terrific hedge or a privacy fence. It does love sun, has a narrow pyramid shape and grows no more than 15 feet tall. You can enjoy its rich foliage all winter, and in spring, you can decide if you want to prune and shape it, or let it grow naturally. It will be great in your yard either way.
All of these plants are suitable for our heat and cold zones, and are readily available in local garden centers or at garden websites. Plant a few of them this spring, and next year you will be rewarded with a "green" view from your window!
Kautz is a retired Air Force Colonel and Master Gardener.
