Fall may be the most colorful season, but it’s about to give way to dreary winter blahs. Or is it? Here’s what to look for in our plant nursery in the late fall in Hudson Valley and Sullivan County, NY. These additions will infuse your landscape with delightful pops of color to get you through the winter once the holiday decorations have been taken down. Winter colors will, in general, be more subtle but you may be pleasantly surprised at just how colorful a winter garden can be.
You may not be spending a lot of time outdoors in winter… and that’s okay. Even looking out the window could be a wonderful experience with strategically placed colors that brighten the atmosphere in an otherwise gray and brown landscape.
Think of your landscape in terms of layers, with larger, darker, and denser elements toward the rear (along the perimeter) and gradually transitioning toward smaller, lighter, and lower elements in the foreground.
Start with a background of deep greens. Evergreen trees and shrubs come in many varieties and shades of green, from bluish spruces to golden-hued cypress. Planting a few evergreens will provide year-round color. Evergreens are also excellent windbreaks; planting them on the windward side of your yard can help make your outdoor living spaces feel much cozier on chilly days.
As you move forward from the background, focus deciduous trees, and shrubs with interesting bark and berries. Some trees have extraordinary bark which is generally overshadowed by foliage and only comes into its own in winter. Cherry, birch, ironwood, oak, aspen, ninebark, maple, and dogwood are great choices for winter interest. While birch and aspen bark is white with black accents, it stands out on days without snow; and on snowy days, birch and aspen bark provides subtle interest among the more drab brown/grey trees in the area.
Shrubs and trees that bear berries or fruit are festive additions that will brighten a wintry landscape. Barberry, chokecherry, crabapple, cranberry, dogwood, holly, and winterberry are just a few cold-hardy specimens to choose. They will also attract hungry birds during winter, if you enjoy bird-watching.
A few shrubs actually bloom in winter, which is an unexpected delight in an otherwise dreary landscape. These include Viburnum, Sweet Bay or Sweet Box, Winter Jasmine; and Winter Heath.
Moving even closer, it’s time to focus on flowers that bloom in early and late winter. Asters and chrysanthemums often bloom well into November. Early-blooming plants like crocuses, grape hyacinths and daffodils will brighten an otherwise bleak landscape as it transitions from winter to spring. Kale, chard, and spinach are very cold-hardy leafy plants that taste even better when they’ve had a few frosty nights. They will continue to brighten your landscape until the very deepest freezes finally kill off the leaves.
Underfoot, hardy ground covers provide color on days when they’re not covered in snow. Ground covers could be planted between boulders in a rock garden or draped softly over a stone retaining wall. Bearberry, creeping thyme, sedums, creeping juniper, candytuft, lowbush blueberry, partridgeberry and wall germander are great winter-hardy choices.
For best results, make sure your plants are protected by a thick layer of mulch. Our nursery experts are standing by to help you choose the best plants for your landscape, and give you advice on how to give them the best start possible so you can enjoy a bright landscape this season and in the future.
Related: FINDING COLOR FOR THE WINTER AT A GARDEN NURSERY NEAR ME IN BERGEN COUNTY AND ULSTER COUNTY NY AREAS
