Garden Design For Winter Interest

Parry's Century Plant or Agave parryi provides evergreen texture and winter interest after snowfall

Garden Design For Winter Interest

By David Salman, Founder of High Country Gardens

Winter is often the forgotten season when it comes to landscaping. I love a beautiful perennial border in the summer for the colors, the flowers, and the interesting foliage and textures. But in winter, when all the perennials have gone dormant and lost their summer glow, the structure of your garden will steal the show – even covered in snow! The Parry's Century Plant (Agave parryi) shown above is a great example of the beauty of evergreen and cold-hardy plants.

Woody trees and shrubs, along with cacti and succulent plants, can provide what is known as the “bones of the garden.” We’re not talking literal bones, but are referring to plants with a year-round presence in the garden. Structural plants, along with hardscape elements, set the stage for year-round interest, texture, form, and substance.

Even perennial plants with stiff stems and interesting seed heads, such as Yarrow (Achillea), Sedum, and Coneflowers (Echinacea), can be left standing over the winter. These plants will hold snow and add interesting detail to the winter garden.

Take a look at some plants from David's garden, and High Country Gardens customers' gardens, after winter frost and snowfall. You'll see that winter doesn't have to mean a lackluster landscape. A garden with four-season beauty is possible!

Hesperaloe, Echinocereus, Agave, and other cold-hardy cacti and succulents take center stage in David Salman's Santa Fe garden in winter.

'Thin Man' Indian Grass (Sorghastrum nutans) holds snow gracefully and catches the afternoon sun at David Salman's home in New Mexico.

Hardscape elements, such as garden sculptures, add an extra layer of visual interest. Snow falls on a Kokopelli sculpture and ornamental grasses in our customer Sarah's garden in Kansas.

The showy seed heads of ornamental grasses, like the unique eyelash-shaped seeds of Blonde Ambition Blue Grama Grass shown here, provide texture and movement throughout the winter months.

Ornamental Grasses, stones, and sculpture provide beautiful winter interest in this garden.

Planting For Winter Interest

When flowers fade, the bones of the architectural forms in your garden take center stage. Be sure to include cold-hardy cacti and succulents, ornamental grasses, trees, and shrubs in your landscape design for year-round beauty.