Posted 12:14 am Thursday, December 22, 2011
Winter Garden Offers Visual Treats
Winter time in East Texas means cold, windy days, hopefully rain, maybe an occasional sleet or snow storm, punctuated with warm spells that tease and foretell the coming spring.
Outdoor gardening is mainly in a clean-up mode, raking or mowing leaves, cutting back faded perennials, discarding dead summer annuals, and perhaps doing some needed pruning.
Other activities might be feeding the birds and perusing over plant catalogs loaded with sumptuous pictures and enticing descriptions of spring promises.
But the winter garden can have a charm and present a lovely scene that is only possible at this time of year. It's true, brown leaves and barren branches against a grey sky may not inspire the same rapture as the riot of color during Tyler's Azalea Trail season. But, it's in winter when you see the true grandeur of an ancient white oak, now stripped of its leaves, revealing its architectural structure of long, sturdy trunks, distinctive bark and picturesque branches. Various shades of green provided by evergreens, both broadleaf and evergreen, stand out more at this time, too.
VISUAL TREATS
Let's look at some of the visual opportunities that the winter garden can provide, and perhaps you can incorporate an idea into your landscape.
In the winter, structures come to the forefront as deciduous trees and shrubs shed their leaves. Brick and stone walls, wooden fences, pergolas and arbors all become more readily apparent. Garden ornaments, fountains, birdbaths and statuary, which often are overshadowed in the spring and summer, really stand out at this time of year. Strategically placed in the landscape, even one such object can radically change a dull yard into one with a touch of drama and class.
It is also in winter time that different plant forms come to the forefront. Weeping plants, often going unnoticed during the year, jump out now. After the large leaves of the weeping mulberry fall, the dramatic downward cascade of branches is even more prominent. Weeping yaupon holly is another dramatic plant, which when appropriately placed, becomes a focal point just for its form. The abundance of bright red berries borne in winter adds to the effect.
It's only in winter the one can appreciate Harry Lauder's Walking Stick (Corylus avellana 'Contorta'). During the summer, one is underwhelmed with this plant -- definitely not the star of the spring or summer landscape. But once the leaves are gone, the mass of dramatically twisted, curling branches jumps out at you visually and becomes the center of attention.
The trunks and bark of trees become dominate in the dormant season. There are many trees with very colorful or interesting bark. The common crepemyrtle is mainly appreciated for its summertime blooms. Every other year, the bark of a crepemyrtle peels off, or exfoliates, revealing the interesting and colorful patterns of the underbark. Different varieties have distinctively different color patterns, ranging from dark cinnamon and grey to tan and mahogany. The 'Natchez' variety is one of the best, with cinnamon-brown and light tan bark.
The Lacebark elm (Ulmus parvifolia) develops an interesting bark pattern as the trunk grows larger with age. The trunk becomes checkered with small patches of orange and brown flakes. The native river birch (Betula nigra) has the most dramatic of peeling bark for our area, with large sheets of paper-like white to cinnamon colored bark that peel off all year long. This habit can vary from tree to tree, so purchase trees already showing a tendency to peel. The variety 'Heritage' is one named variety with good form.
The Coral Bark Maple (Acer palmatum 'Sango-Kaku') is a popular Japanese maple with bright coral-colored bark which shines as fall turns into winter, especially when placed against a darker background.
The foliage of some evergreen plants turns an attractive color in the winter. The needles of some varieties of junipers turn an attractive bronzy-purple as the weather turns colder. Purpleleaf Wintercreeper's (Euonymous fortunei) dark green leaves turn, as the name implies, dark purple. Many azaleas with rose or red flowers will have attractive bronze or dark red leaves during the winter - an extra bonus to the spring bloom.
There are many plants with berries in the fall and winter that not only are attractive to look at, but draw birds as well. Hollies are most famous for their berry crops. Deciduous or Possumhaw Holly (Ilex decidua) is a standout since it drops its leaves to reveal large red to orange berries. The evergreen yaupon holly always has a great crop of dark red berries which are a magnet for cedar waxwings and other birds. There are many other fine hollies with abundant berries, with plant heights ranging from semi-dwarf shrubs to trees. Some other common plants with berries include pyracantha, roses (hips), nandina and American beautyberry (Callicarpa).
Many ornamental grasses can look striking in the early winter. The stiff, airy, brown foliage, topped with dry, silvery flower plumes can look attractive well into January and February. Once they begin to look ratty, cut them back, but don't be in a rush to clean up the garden right after the first freeze.
Of course, folks always would like flowers for every season of the year. While the palette of flowering plants in wintertime is more limited, there are some standouts.
Camellias are the star shrubs of the winter landscape in the south. Camellia sasanqua varieties are blooming right now. These shrubs have attractive dark green leaves the act as a perfect foil for the abundant display of flowers. Soon the more showy flowers of Camellia japonica will start blooming.
Winter honeysuckle (Lonicera fragrantissima) isn't known for its showy flowers, but rather for the sweet fragrance these small white blooms give off on warm winter days.
Many other shrubs and trees bloom in winter or very early spring, including flowering quince (Chaenomeles), some azaleas, deciduous magnolias, witch-hazel (Hamamelis) and its relative the Chinese fringe flower (Loropetalum).
Keith Hansen is Smith County Horticulturist with the Texas AgriLife Extension Service. His web page is http://EastTexasGardening.tamu.edu His Blog is http://agrilife.org/etg
Texas AgriLife Extension Service educational programs are open to all individuals without regard to race, color, sex, disability, religion, age or national origin.
