Winter Landscaping Ideas: 6 Ways to Add Beauty to Your Cold-Season Garden

Gardeners in snowy regions often dread winter's white-and-gray palette. But with planning in spring, summer, and fall—plus a few easy winter accents—you can have a landscape that shines against the stark season. "Winter interest comes down to just a few things," says Barbara Pierson, nursery manager at White Flower Farm.

1. Focus on bark. Deciduous trees reveal distinctive bark in winter. Smaller ornamental trees like dogwoods and birches add texture and color.

2. Include berries. Many trees and shrubs hold fruit through winter, feeding birds. Crabapples and hollies with berries are standout choices.

3. Remember evergreens. They provide year-round color—green, yellow (Gold Thread false cypress), blue (dwarf blue spruce), and everything between. "Always have at least one or two evergreens and build a border around them," Pierson advises.

4. Rely on hardscape. Winter is the time to assess missing focal points. A trellis, bench, arbor, or sculpture can be the solution. "Winter is the best time to consider hardscape," Pierson says.

5. Adorn summertime containers. Window boxes, hanging baskets, winter-hardy pots: fill with dwarf Alberta spruce, broadleaf evergreens (Japanese Andromeda, holly, rhododendron), or simply evergreen boughs and colorful twigs. Water during dry spells.

6. Stick with four-season perennials. Some perennials keep foliage in winter—ornamental grasses, hellebores, dianthus. Check labels for winter foliage. Winter is also prime time to bargain-shop for garden supplies, research plants, and note what worked this year.