Progressive Plants

Creating Your Own Winter Wonderland

By Progressive Plants

There’s a popular song we sing at this time of year that celebrates the joy of being outside in nature. It mentions the sound of sleigh bells in the distance, snow glistening in the lane, the arrival of a new bird, and a meadow with a snowman. It’s a song about the simple joys of going for a walk in a winter wonderland.

Although, in most parts of the country, it’s been generations since anyone has hitched a horse to a sleigh, we can relate to this song. We are inspired by the beauty of nature draped in a blanket of snow and frost glistening on tree branches. Some plants just seem to be made for winter.

With just a little planning, you can create a winter wonderland of your own. As you ’re designing your grow beds for the coming year, be sure to include plants that offer winter interest.

At ProgressivePlants.com, you’ll find an entire section of our catalog dedicated to plants with winter interest. You may be surprised at how many options are available. There are so many choices, in fact, that we couldn’t begin to mention them all in this article, but we’ll share a small sampling of them with you today.

Dogwoods: Red Twig and Yellow Twig

Dogwood bushes are definitely one of the plants that were made for winter. They look great all year long, but their bare, colorful branches contrasting against white snow is truly a sight to behold. You can find dogwoods in varying sizes, so you ’re sure to find one that matches your taste.

Snowberry Bushes

The Common Snowberry (Symphoricarpos albus), or the Pinky Promise Dwarf Snowberry (Symphoricarpos doorenbosii 'Kolmpica'), add visual interest during winter with their beautiful berries on bare branches. Their fruits are persistent so they provide fruit for hungry birds during the colder months. It’s almost as though the shrub decorates itself with birds and small, pearl-like ornaments.

Manzanita

Arctostaphylos, also known as Kinnikinnick, Bearberry, or Manzanita, is a really fun plant to grow in your landscape. They prefer slopes, well-draining soil, and they don’t need a lot of water. They’re grown for their evergreen leaves and cinnamon-colored exfoliating bark. Once established, they’ll be a low-maintenance, eye-catching addition to your yard. On top of all that, their small fruits and blossoms are edible.

Miscanthus Flame Grass

There are several wonderful ornamental grasses that you can plant in your yard to create visual interest in the winter. Among these wonderful grasses are Maiden Grasses. There are several varieties of Maiden Grass, but only one Flame Grass. Honestly, it’s hard to find grass quite like Flame Grass. This beauty is by far the most reliable of all the Maiden grasses for coppery-red, orange, and gold fall color. These rich, warm tones create a striking contrast against the surrounding greenery of your yard, infusing it with a sense of warmth and energy. If you don’t cut it back in the fall, it will make a stunning addition to your winter landscape!

Paperbark Maple

You’ll love how the Paperbark Maple stands out in your winter landscape. The deep, cinnamon-brown underside of its exfoliating bark makes a beautiful statement against the whites and grays of winter. It’s a fantastic addition to your yard at any time of year, but it’s especially eye-catching when everything else has gone to rest.

Red Barron Crabapple

Crabapples may be the best ornamental tree that you can plant in your yard. There are several wonderful varieties with varying growth habits, bloom colors, and leaf colors. They’ll check almost all of the boxes on your list for focal point trees. Most crabapples are fruit-bearing, but today’ s crabapple trees aren’t like our grandparents’. Nowadays, the fruit you’ll see on most cultivars is persistent, which means it won’t fall off all at once in the fall—leaving a difficult mess to clean up. Instead, the fruit will stay on the tree throughout winter, providing easily accessible food for birds. Red Barron offers stunningly red leaves in the fall that are only outdone by the brightness of its fruit. That fruit will hang on the tree like bright red holiday ornaments. In fact, we’ve seen Red Barron Crab Apples still hanging on the branches in the spring as new leaves were starting to sprout.

Boxwoods

Boxwoods are delightful, flat-leaved, evergreen shrubs that grow in a variety of shapes and sizes. Because they’re evergreen, they offer great winter interest as they contrast against the white snow and gray skies. Remember to water your boxwoods very well before your ground freezes to avoid root desiccation. Evergreen plants are not dormant during the winter. They continue to respire, so if you have a cold, dry, windy day, their leaves can dry out and turn yellow or brown. If you water well before the ground freezes and give them some water during the winter (if there is no snow at their base), they will thrive in your landscape for years.

Conifer Trees and Shrubs:

Because evergreen trees and shrubs retain their foliage throughout the year, they provide color and structure to your winter landscape. Examples of evergreen trees that do well in Utah include: Juniper trees and shrubs, spruce trees, pine trees, fir trees, and cedars. The best choices for your yard will be the ones that fit in your space. Some varieties can get quite large. However, because there are so many evergreen trees and shrubs in a variety of shapes and sizes, we’re confident you’ll find the perfect specimens for your yard.

Like all evergreens, your conifer trees and shrubs will respire during the winter months, so you’ll want to water them well before the ground freezes, and give them water at least monthly if you have a winter with very little snow.

Frozen ground doesn’t absorb a lot of water, so the most critical time to water is in late fall. Trees that go into the hard freeze of winter with water in and around their roots will be much better off than those that go into the cold season dry.

When you visit ProgressivePlants.com, you’ll see an entire section of our online catalog devoted to conifers. You may be surprised by the variety of trees and shrubs that are available to you. It won’t take long to fall in love with more wonderful trees than you’ll have room for in your landscape. With just a little planning, you can be walking in a winter wonderland just outside your door.