If the cold, bare look of your yard in winter depresses you, you can spruce up your landscape with some fantastic winter landscape ideas. Whether you want to focus on sustainable gardening or strictly winterizing, you can use hardy plants or other outdoor items, so you can love your property in the winter just as much as you do in the warm months.
You may think all you can do to curate your yard during the winter is add some rocks, but you can do so much more. Keep reading for the best winter landscaping plants and other fabulous winter landscape ideas.
Best Winter Landscaping Plants
Most plants and flowers prefer sunny, warm weather. But if you live in an area where the winters come with super low temperatures and snowfall, your plants likely can’t survive the winter months.
Holly Bushes
Holly bushes might be one of the obvious choices, but the color and vibrancy these bushes can bring to your wintery yard are unmatched. Holly bushes are round and robust, with evergreen leaves and bright red berries, making for a stunning pop of color in your otherwise white backyard.
Plume Grass
Plume grass is a subtle and sturdy plant that can add volume and softness to your bare winter backyard. Plume grass is a tall perennial grass with fluffy foliage that can add charm to your space, even when it’s super cold.
The fluffy plumes at the end can be beige, purple, white, or orange, bringing color to your property in the dead of winter. They also add depth to your space, combatting the bareness of winter. But it also thrives in warm weather, so you can enjoy them all year.
Hellebores
Hellebores are evergreen perennial flowers resilient in the face of cold temperatures. The blossoms are small with wide, short petals that delicately overlap one another.
The petals can be maroon, Fuschia, or dark purple. Some even grow in a rich black color that is whimsical and mysterious. Despite what most people think, your landscape doesn’t need to be flowerless in winter.
Cranberry Bushes
Like holly bushes, you can use cranberry bushes to add a pop of color to your space. Cranberry bushes are typically larger than holly bushes, so they’ll help fill in space in your garden while adding a lovely red color.
Pine Trees
What’s more wintery than pine trees? Most trees shed their lovely green leaves in the winter, leaving behind a bare and rather depressing tree.
But pine trees are evergreen that keep their colorful needles all year long! They’re easy to care for and add a rich aesthetic to your garden or yard.
Canadian Hemlock Trees
Hemlock spruce trees are similar to pine trees, but they have shorter needles and a more spacious arrangement of branches.
The needles are bright green, adding some life to your otherwise colorless winter yard. These trees are also facing extinction, so planting one in your yard can be a good deed.
Birch Trees
When thinking about winter landscaping, you should focus on the bark. If a tree is gorgeous when it’s full of leaves but ugly and plain when empty, this isn’t conducive to a pleasing winter landscape.
Birch trees have an enchanting white bark that will be attractive, even when the leaves are gone for the winter.
Winter Jasmine
The winter jasmine is a cross between a flower and a vine. It’s technically a slender shrub, and then tiny yellow flowers blossom at the end of winter.
While you’re waiting for the right springtime moment to plant other flowers, winter jasmine will already be blooming, adding a sunny yellow color to your wintery yard.
Dwarf Blue Spruce
Pine trees and hemlocks are a stunning green. But for something more unique, you can plant a dwarf blue spruce tree. It’s similar to a pine tree, but they grow more like shrubs, short and stout.
As the name suggests, their needles have a blue tint that brings a whimsical appearance to your yard.
Black-Eyed Susans
If you want to plant flowers that can survive a cold winter, black-eyed Susans are perfect. They’re one of the hardiest flowers and can thrive in cold or warm weather.
These perennial plants are sturdy and low-maintenance. Caring for them year-round is a breeze, even for amateur gardeners.
Other Winter Landscape Ideas
Remember that the garden includes more than plants! For example, you can turn your deck into a patio. While many people focus on finding hardy plants for their winter landscape ideas, you can also liven up your garden or yard during the winter using other elements. Consider adding one of the following features to your landscape so it can stand out during the cold months.
Lighting
A captivating outdoor lighting scheme can make your yard just as stunning in winter as in spring and summer. You can hang bright fairy lights for an enchanting look or find large, warm lights to bring coziness to your landscape.
Winter is the perfect time to add some elegant holiday lighting to your garden. Doing so can make your home feel even more festive.
Winter Decor
Don’t be afraid to embrace the winter season with cold-themed decor. You can add elegant reindeer statues or decorative snowflakes to enhance the chilly beauty of your backyard.
Use icy blue and white colors to make your backyard look clean and stunning. You can also add decorative winter sports gear, like snowshoes or skis.
Seasonal Pots
If you have a yard filled with potted plants, especially ones hardy enough for winter, consider swapping your pots for something more seasonal! Many people keep potted plants in a second decorative container, so you can easily switch out the containers to coincide with the seasons.
Hardscaping
Winter landscaping plants are wondrous, but the cold months are the ideal time to focus on your hardscaping. You can trellises, decks, outdoor seating, garden benches, arbors, or garden sculptures.
Hardscaping additions can brighten your garden in winter, so it doesn’t feel so bland and empty when the snow comes.
Prepare for Winter With the Right Landscaping Ideas
Hopefully, one of these winter landscape ideas appeals to you. Whether you want to add some hardscaping or utilize winter landscaping plants, there’s no reason to leave your garden sad during the winter. With these tips and plants, you can enjoy your yard in all four seasons. Contact ALD today to get started on your winter landscaping project!