All-Purpose Flower: What Do You Want From Your Garden In Winter?

Monday, February 4, 2013

What Do You Want From Your Garden In Winter?

From reading other blogs and seeing posts on Facebook, I know that for some of us spring won't be here soon enough. In the past I usually wanted to fast forward to spring, just for the daylight alone. I even used a calendar to track the extra minutes up until daylight savings started.

But, this year I felt like putting the brakes on the urge to skip winter and move into spring. Instead I'm trying to remind myself of the benefits winter has to offer - and to just slow down.

In my last post I'd found a photo of an apple tree in winter with a deer below it. To me, that tree is an "All-Purpose" plant. In spring and summer that tree would blossom and fruit. But in winter it serves as a visual focal point - and attracts critters.

A few garden writers have been pointing out that winter offers us a time to assess and make plans. Winter is a time to look around the yard (or deck) and ask "what is missing?" or "what's working?" It's a great time to determine what you want to see - more greenery, more color, more bloom? In my case I want to see more evergreen and less fence.

Over the years in my parents yard, we've added evergreen trees, shrubs, and a red twig dogwood. These additions have added year-round greenery, winter color, and even winter blooms.

Here are some examples, photos via Flickr. All photos are licensed under Creative Commons.