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Creating winter gardens
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Select a couple of main winter
plants. Dwarf evergreens are a good choice, but you must be meticulous about
keeping plants from growing around them throughout the growing season. Thick
perennials can smother dwarf evergreens; this can cause newer growth to be
undersized and the bottoms to grow thin. Neither of these defects are likely to
be detected in summer, but the plants will not do as well during the winter.
Preferred evergreens for
winter include, Montgomery blue spruce, dwarf false cypress, dwarf Serbian
spruce, dwarf Alberta spruce, and boxwood.
Yellow and red dogwoods
sparkle against the dreary cover of winter, while the brilliant green twigs
of Japanese kerria are complemented by attractive white buds. Shrubs like
bushclover and Scotch broom are finely textured plants with brilliant green
twigs all season.
A pruned PeeGee hydrangea
properly suits a formal border. It grows to a height of a smaller deciduous
tree, and the enormous dried flowers stay on during the winter, grabbing
hold of the snow in pleasant clumps.
Ornamental grasses come in a
size to suit any borders. Fountain grass for smaller areas, blue-gray switch
grass for those with more room to fill, and variegated maiden grass for
gardeners with a very large are to fill.
By late winter ornamental
grasses have a tendency to break into pieces, scattering their foliage all
over the garden, and frequently into your neighbor's yard. You should chop
them down before that happens. A good time to cut them down is while we are
experiencing a January or February thaw.
Larger borders often profit
from an occasional cluster of rough foliage. When the leaves have fallen
off, the weighty stems and twigs of those plants help to punctuate the
border.
A couple of the most striking
deciduous scrubs for the job are Catalpa and Velvet Cloak. They have dark
purple foliage, and both specimens make a strong statement in the summer
border. In winter, the outstanding buds and sturdy stems secure the border
through ice and snow.
Warning smokebush and Catalpa
are not your characteristic perennials. In reality, they are large trees,
abnormally dwarfed by a procedure called "stooling." Each spring,
all of the branches are cut back to a couple of inches from the ground.
Plants react by sending out tall and hardy shoots from the base of the
plant. In this case, foliage color is dark burgundy, and is strongest on the
newest growth.
To get the most out of your
winter shrubs and evergreens place them carefully, in a formal bed. Place
winter shrubs and evergreens at the ends of the border in the middle or at
uniform intervals.
Informal plant beds need
balance, without being symmetrical. Heavier plants typically look best at
the end of a border, or close to the lowest point, but not precisely at the
perimeter or exactly opposite one another.
Lastly, enhance your winter
garden with some careful thought. Use traditional ornaments, such as stone
urns, and garden spheres, and outdoor sculptures.
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