Adding Winter Interest To Your Garden

Laura Chavez Botanical Garden, Missouri

F • I have plants in my garden that produce great color from spring to fall, but look rather dull in winter. What plants can help bring winter interest to my garden?

A • A lot of what we grow in our gardens is related to the features that can be seen while the plants are actively growing from spring to autumn. However, it is worth considering how events will develop in the winter months.

Evergreens seem like the obvious choice for winter fun, but some struggle with hot, humid summers here in St. Louis. Boxwood (Buxus sp.), Missouri eastern red cedar (Juniperus virginiana) and American holly (Ilex opaca) are best suited to our area. When bred with suitable male mushrooms, female porcupines also generate winter interest for their brightly colored fruits, which can be left in the garden for display and to attract birds and wildlife, or they can be cut and used indoors.

Other crops with colorful fruits that persist through winter include crabapple (Malus sp.), winterberry (Ilex verticillata), chokeberry (Aronia spp.), and native Missouri coral (Symphoricarpos orbiculatus).

Native ornamental grasses such as millet (Panicum virgatum), bluegrass (Andropogon gerardii), and brown oats (Chasmanthium latifolium) can add a soothing sound and texture to a winter landscape, often providing food and shelter for wildlife.

Maple paper

Courtesy of the Missouri Botanical Garden.

Another class of plants to consider are those with unique bark color or texture. Paper maple (Acer griseum), river birch (Betula nigra), dogwood (Cornus sanguinea), hydrangea oak bark (Hydrangea quercifolia), and harlequin (Heptacodium miconioides) can give a garden its characteristic color and texture.

Finally, consider witch hazel (Hamamelis spp.), a plant that opens its flowers during the winter months. When transplanting your landscape, be sure to select the "Right Plant for the Right Place" so that your plants have the best chance of surviving. For more ideas and information about plants, use the Kemper Home Gardening Center plant search tool on the Missouri Botanical Garden website at missouribotanicalgarden.org/plantfinder/plantfindersearch.aspx.

Contact the Missouri Botanic Garden Home Garden Center at plantinformation@mobot.org or Garden Assistance Services, 4344 Shaw Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63110.