Beds in winter are stripped of their leafy camouflage. Nothing but the garden’s bare bones poke through the snow.
And if you’ve just moved into a brand-new house, your property can look particularly barren in winter if you haven’t yet planted any kind of garden.
So use the winter to plan your garden, and anticipate how it will look in future winters. A well-designed garden can deliver a quiet sense of satisfaction in the winter.
The garden, devoid of decoration, exposes its structure. Fences, walls, terraces, paths and bed shapes relate more intimately to one another than they do when separated by foliage. Winter is a good time to assess those relationships–which ones work and which need work.
Here are some things to consider that help to make the winter landscape more appealing:
– The major elements of the garden are well proportioned. They seem to fit the house, the site and each other. The garden completely fills the space allotted to it.
Small island beds, floating in a sea of lawn, appear disjointed in winter, almost forlorn. By connecting beds together to a feature of the house or garden, even empty beds appear to belong.
Large sweeping curves are more pleasing to look at than squiggly bed lines. They also make small spaces appear larger. Try to avoid ending up with odd little corners; they draw undue attention to themselves.
Allow a key element to dominate each garden area; a specimen tree, an arbor covered by a vine, an interesting group of shrubs. Build the scene around that feature.
– Paths lead somewhere. Even if you don’t often walk them in winter, the eye uses paths to “travel” visually through the garden. A destination is important, suggesting a scene of closure.
The exception, of course, is a path that intentionally “disappears.” Garden designers use the technique to make it look as if the garden continues beyond the point where the path vanishes. Block the view of the path’s end with evergreens or dense shrubs.
– Windows have a view. Windows are our access to the garden in winter. Make sure the scenes from key windows are well-composed.
Features with strong lines such as walls, arbors and gates, are especially attractive with winter’s snow on them. Geometric shapes also “read” well in winter with their perimeters unobstructed .
– Birdfeeders are placed thoughtfully. Nearby evergreens offer songbirds a place to hide; deciduous trees a perch. Birds will visit regularly if they feel safe.
Supplement bird feeding with berried bushes and ornamental trees such as crabapples. Birds prefer natural food sources if they’re available.
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– Evergreens dot the landscape. With such a fascinating variety of shapes, sizes and colors, it’s unnecessary to confine evergreens to foundation plantings. Consider using them as a backdrop for perennials, to anchor shrub beds or as a screen around a tranquil seating area.
Press unusual evergreens into service as specimen plants: weeping white pines, dwarf spruces, emerald-colored junipers and white-tipped hemlocks are just a few of the choices available.
– Allees–walkways with plants or trees on either side–end in focal points: An allee can either be formal or informal, with clipped hedges in straight lines, a path flanked by perennial borders or a row of flowering trees or shrubs.
Whatever its composition, an allee invites movement as the eye searches for an ending point. That could be a birdhouse, an interesting piece of garden sculpture, a bench, gate or specimen plant. Choose a feature that matches the style or feeling of the garden.
– Deciduous plants are chosen for their winter character. Interesting bark, colorful berries and handsome branching patterns are good reasons to position deciduous plants prominently in a winter scene.
Keep the scale of the garden in mind when calculating the number of plants needed. Up close, a single specimen may be enough; at 50 paces, it may take several plants of a single variety to be just as effective.
– Unpleasant views are screened. The neighbor’s tool shed looks larger in winter than it does at other times of the year; his trash can just won’t go away.
Because unpleasant views are more exposed in winter it makes good sense to plant an evergreen or a border of thick deciduous shrubs to hide them. An attractive fence takes up very little space for about the same investment.
Eliminating an eyesore can be the single most important way to increase enjoyment of your garden in winter.