Creating a landscape with year round interest is not as difficult a task as it may seem.  We have such a large palette of plants to choose from here in Georgia that the biggest challenge should be finding enough space for all your favorites.

The main staple in our gardens is our evergreens.  The most basic definition for an evergreen plant is that it holds its foliage year round.  Like any plant, it will shed older leaves and produce new ones, but instead of everything dropping at once—leaving the plants bare, they tend to do it gradually over a longer period of time.  This gives the illusion that the leaves stay on forever and the plant can provide a full foliage look all year long.

Evergreens come in a variety of colors and textures.  We have evergreen foliage in shades of red, yellow, white, and blues in addition to the numerous shades of green.  Some reddish foliage plants that stand out in the winter are Wintercreeper (Euonymus fortunei ‘Coloratus’) and Nandinas of all kinds.  Many variegated plants have white or yellow or both colors such as Goshiki Osmanthus (Goshiki heterophyllus ‘Goshiki’).  Gold Mop Cypress (Chamaecyparis pisifera filifera ‘Aurea Nana’) has vibrant yellow foliage all year but really shows up in the winter when many other colors have faded.  We don’t have many blue foliage plants in the Southeast, but a few good performers are Blue Star Juniper (Juniperus squamata ‘Blue Star’) and Deodar Cedar (Cedrus deodara). There area also a variety of textures to choose from in our evergreen plants.  The main groups are broadleaf evergreens such as Hollies and Magnolias, needled conifers like Deodar Cedars and Junipers, and soft foliage conifers such as Arborvitae.

The less obvious plants with winter interest are the ones that shine without their foliage.  Many plants have beautiful bark that we tend to overlook when distracted by leaves and flowers during the growing season.  Coral Bark Japanese Maple (Acer palmatum ‘Beni Kawa’), Virginia Sweetspire (Itea virginica), and Red Twig Dogwood (Cornus alba ‘Elegantissima’) are all known for their bright red stems in the winter.  They have attractive foliage in the summer, but the real show is when the plants are bare and can show off their bark.  Another feature that is easier to see in the winter is exfoliating bark.  Several trees and shrubs will naturally shed off the top layer of bark showing a contrasting color underneath.  Some examples of plants with exfoliating bark are Crape Myrtles (Lagerstroemia indica), River Birch (Betula nigra), Chinese Elms (Ulmus parvifolia), and Oakleaf Hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia).

Structure is another often overlooked feature in the winter landscape.  Multi-trunked trees such as Crape Myrtles and Serviceberries provide a graceful upright focal point, especially if showcased with uplighting.  Other interesting forms are the horizontal branching structures of Weeping Japanese Maples (Acer palmatum dissectum) and Flowering Dogwoods (Cornus florida).  For a unique shape, use Contorted Filbert (Corylus avellana) with its twisting and turning branches that make great fillers for cut flower arrangements.

Another group that is often overlooked but provide some beauty in the cold season are the winter flowering plants.  Many times the cold keeps us indoors and we miss the flowers that open up before the warmth of Spring.  Fragrance is an unexpected plus in a few of these early bloomers such as Tea Olive (Osmanthus fragrans), Winter Daphne (Daphne odora), and Sweetbox (Sarcococca spp.).  Other winter flowering plants are Mahonia (Mahonia bealei), Pieris (Pieris japonica), Witchazel (Hamamelis x intermedia), and Lenten Rose (Heleborus orientalis).

The last category is the plants with showy berries in the winter.  Everyone is familiar with the evergreen hollies and their red berries, but there are many other plants that also put on a great ornamental fruit set.  Winter King Hawthorne (Crataegus viridis ‘Winter King’), Burning Bush (Euonymus alataus ‘Compacta’), and Winterberry Holly (Ilex verticillata ‘Winterberry’) are all deciduous plants that show off their berries without the distraction of foliage.  For the shade garden, Dwarf Green Aucuba (Aucuba japonica) produces large berries in clusters around the stem.

For a list of great plants to give interest to your winter garden, see below.  Don’t abandon your garden in the winter, just make it worth the effort of bundling up and venturing outside !