Evergreen Plants and Garden Design
Year-round foliage makes evergreens a staple for the winter garden. Boxwood shrubs provide privacy and work well for shaped hedges. Rosemary, wintergreen, and Oregon grape create colorful and fragrant landscape perimeters--and their leaves, stems, and berries can be used for cooking and medicinal purposes.
Blueberry bushes are relatively easy to grow, year-round, throughout the United States. And blueberry bushes provide a wealth of enjoyment when their fruit ripens. While delicious and worth picking in summertime, don't be fooled by evergreen blackberry and raspberry bushes, also called "brambles." These large, hearty plants can quickly invade your landscape and deposit thorny reminders of why you should have left them in the wild.
Flowering Winter Plants for Home and Garden
Winter pansies bring rainbows of color to your home and garden, and they hint at warmer days. Large plots of this popular flower provide trimmings for transplanting to pots. Winter pansies look great in your home and throughout your garden. Keep them moist and near sunlight.
Heather plants are suitable for winter gardens in New England, the Pacific Northwest, and coastal areas. In mild climates, heather provides color throughout the year. Gardens that experience harsh winters must wait until spring to enjoy the heather plant's canvases of purple, pink, and white. Having heather "carpets" in your garden protects against weeds throughout the year.
While winter may not be the most plant-friendly season, you can still have a beautiful garden. With creativity, planning, and patience, your landscape can resemble an artist's canvas every season of the year.
