How to Add Color to your Winter Landscape

In our area, the winter season tends to drag on—and on and on.

It often starts snowing early and that cold weather seems to hang on as long as possible. While the first snow or two can be kind of exciting, after a while the frigid temperatures, gray skies, and lack of color in your landscape can all start to feel a bit depressing.

While we can’t help you with the frigid air or gray skies, there’s no reason that your landscape has to look so bleak and dreary! There are definitely ways to add some color and interest to your landscape with the right choice of plant material.

By choosing wisely, you’ll be able to add pops of color that will brighten even the darkest days.

 

Here are some appealing plant choices to consider:

“Winter King” Hawthorn
One of the best things about “Winter King” Hawthorn, one of the most disease-resistant Hawthorns, is that it produces beautiful red berries all winter long. We’ve found that these berries tend to hang on throughout the season, giving you some bright red color in your landscape. The pops of red look very sharp against the white winter snow. This tree will also produce some nice, white spring flowers that you can look forward to as the cold begins to fade.

 

Flowering Crabapple Trees
Many of the flowering Crabapple Tree varieties have fruit that hangs on, even in the winter. One variety in particular, the Harvest Gold Crabapple, has gorgeous yellow fruit that would instantly brighten a boring winter landscape. If you enjoy birdwatching, it’s also worth noting that birds are attracted to most fruit-producing Crabapple Trees, making it a nice addition for wildlife. While most folks like attracting birds, they’d rather not attract deer and the Crabapple tree is a good choice for deer resistance as well. Due to the height of the canopy of this tree, deer cannot reach the leaves.

 

Paperbark Maple
Of course, it’s not just the fruit or flowers that can be appealing and colorful. Some trees also have interesting bark. Paperbark Maple is a great example of a tree that has unique bark habits. This tree’s cinnamon-colored bark begins to peel and reveal new bark underneath, creating a very elegant look. River Birch trees also have interesting bark that can be white, brown, or black. The River Birch tree also peels to create a unique look that would add interest to your winter landscape.

 

Hydrangea
This might seem like an unlikely pick for “winter color,” but we have found that some of our clients love the unique look that their hydrangea shrubs offer come winter. While these shrubs are no longer actively blooming, the existing bloom is still there. It dries out on the plant, but it typically remains intact. It’s almost like a “dry flower arrangement” that sticks around on the shrub throughout the season, giving you some visual interest.

 

Other Considerations for Your Winter Landscape

In addition to adding hardy winter plants with bright seasonal color, there are a few other things you can do to brighten up your winter landscape. Consider these three additional tips:

1. Follow Through on Fall Clean-Up
One of the biggest eyesores of winter is messy plant material. Take, for instance, ornamental grasses. It is our recommendation that these be cut down to the ground before the first snowfall. That is a service that we’ll provide during a fall clean-up service. The reason being that ornamental grasses get matted down to the ground as soon as we get a wet snowfall—and they become an eyesore. When this happens to them, they’re also much more difficult to clean-up come spring. Fall clean-up should also include removal of leaves, twigs, and dead plant material in your yard.

2. Consider Wildlife Attractors
We already talked about how certain plants can attract colorful birds to your property. If that’s something that you like, then you could also consider a bird feeder. Hanging a bird feeder near a window is a great way to birdwatch from the comfort of your cozy home.

3. Add Landscape Lighting
While the options we’ve discussed so far are mostly focused on adding color—why not also add some light, as well? Landscape lighting is a valuable investment for a number of reasons. It can be used to illuminate certain elements of your home (such as architectural features) or beautiful trees and shrubs so that you can enjoy them even as the sun goes down. But it can also help make your home more safe and secure by lighting up walkways, stairs, the driveway, and your home’s entrance. This is both a deterrent to intruders as well as a safety feature that makes these spaces safer to navigate.

Exscape Designs is here to help you get your home ready to pop this winter. Our experts are waiting to help you add color to your winter landscape so you can escape the winter blahs!  Contact us now to schedule a winter color install with Exscape Designs.

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