Designing for the Winter Garden
It can be easy to feel blue when your beloved garden begins to lose its leaves in the winter, but never fear; a well-designed garden can look good year round! This can be achieved through several strategies, including creating strong structure, using evergreens and semi-evergreens, and using perennials that look good when dormant.

A garden design that looks good in winter looks good all year. This is because, in the winter, the structure of the garden is revealed. Plantings and features that break up the garden such as hedges, pathways, permanent ornamentation and provide scale and geometry are exposed. Many gardeners in and around Ann Arbor prefer to eliminate lawns, but by eliminating the lawn, which frames in the garden and gives it context, the winter landscape is bare and flat. A solution to this is to use stepping stones, hedges and evergreens to break up the space into separate spaces. Gardens are more than places to grow plants - Most well-designed gardens will include plenty of non-living features in their design, such as decorative rocks and statuary. These do not change with the seasons, so those concerned with having a beautiful garden year-round may want to consider including more of them. These kinds of features can also provide a garden with a strong sense of structure, which every garden should have!Â

Many plants remain attractive and alive during the winter time and some even have their peak appeal during the dormant season (Pinus mugo 'Wintergold', Cornus alba). Conifers are an obvious choice. A thoughtfully arranged winter garden uses an assortment of sizes and colors of evergreen conifers. Choose globus shrubs (Chamaecyparus pis 'Golden Mop', Picea pungens 'Globosa') together with upright shrubs (Picea glaucoma 'conica,' Chamaecyparus obtusa), spreaders (blue star juniper, Taxus 'Emerald Spreader'), and for extra interest, weeping conifers (Picea abies 'Pundula,' Cedrus atlantica 'Glauca Pendula, which is a tough plant once established). An incredible array of colors can be had by only using evergreens, from chartreuse to emerald green to luminous blue.

Broadleaf evergreens should also be used to mix in a different texture to the conifers. Achieve globe forms by using boxwoods or Inkberry hollies (Illex glabra varieties - a popular, new alternative to boxwoods, which are showing disease and pest issues) or an amorphous form with evergreen rhododendrons and azaleas (with appropriate soil amendments for our area to account for drainage and ph adjustments). Again, some deciduous shrubs shine the most when their leaves are down. Michigan Holly (Illex verticillata), are a good example. Despite the fact that they lose their leaves in the cold, their red berries are a bright splash of color in an otherwise dull winter scene- and a festive one! Another bush that has bright red berries in the winter time is viburnum. Humans aren’t the only ones who love viburnum berries in the wintertime, either! Birds find a good source of food in a hard season, and can bring a lot of life to your garden in a season where that otherwise might be lacking. Many herbaceous perennials are also semi-evergreen. Underplant bright red Cornus alba with Carex 'Ice Ballet' that, when planted en-mass, is buttermilk in color. Heuchera, Hellebore, Aguja, and Sedum 'Angelina' are typical varieties that would be found in an Atzinger Garden design with the goal for winter appeal.

But living plants are not the only thing that can look nice in a wintertime garden. As famous Dutch gardener Piet Oudolf says, "A plant is only worth growing if it looks good when it is dead." Certain dead plants can be an attractive addition to the garden as well. Decorative grasses take on a stately appearance when they dry, and produce a serene rustling sound. Echinacea, butterfly weed (Asclepias), and aster stems typically stay upright even when their seed heads are loaded with snow or are serving as a perch for birds looking for seeds. Every gardener in metro Detroit who is serious about wintertime perennials should visit Piet Ouldolf's new garden on Bell Isle in January to see what is possible by thoughtfully arranging plants that look good when dead.

Another way to bring some green into your garden in the winter is to bring in cut and prepared plants, like a winter plant arrangement. Winter arrangements provide refreshing greenery without a year-round commitment to winterproofing your garden - design. See how Atzinger Gardens creates winter arrangements that last from Thanksgiving to March.

No matter how you choose to maintain your garden through winter, keeping a fresh, green look is not as difficult as it may first seem. Whether you choose to grow plants that stay alive through winter, look attractive even though they do not, or if you choose to not use plants at all in favor of stonework, or temporary fixtures, all of these strategies can be effective. For advice about your garden and what might be right for you, call Atzinger Gardens at (734) 272-7321 or email main@atzingergardens.com!Â