Winter landscaping tips for avid gardeners

When you think of gardening, bright and colorful flowers, green grass and sunny skies probably come to mind. Winter generally isn’t seen as a season for outdoor gardening activities, and many avid gardeners hang up their tools for the season, waiting until spring to exercise their green thumb.

Winter doesn’t have to mean giving up on outdoor landscaping, though! If you love to garden, there are plenty of things you can do throughout the snowy weather months to keep your yard and home looking festive, bright and cheerful until Mother Nature decides to warm things up a bit. Here are some tips for keeping your green thumb active even when it’s chilly.

Think ahead by planting shrubs and trees with berries

Lots of shrubs, trees and plants hold their berries well into winter. Not only does this keep birds in your yard, it also adds a pop of color to the space. When planning your landscape, include plants that have berries like crabapples, holly, chokeberries, and of course, winterberries.

Don’t overlook the evergreens

Evergreen plants and trees are a great winter landscaping option for obvious reasons. They retain their beautiful color throughout the season! And, while the name may fool you, not all evergreens are green. Dwarf blue spruces and gold thread cypress add extra color to the landscape and provide a safe haven for birds. When planting a new bed of shrubs, always include one evergreen to keep the color going year-round.

Think outside the plants

Landscaping is more than shrubs, trees and flowers. Winter provides us with a blank slate and a good time to make a hard assessment of your total landscape, non-plant items included. It may be that the bare spot in your yard would look perfect with some chairs, a bench, or even a sculpture if that’s your style.

Keep your flowerboxes filled year-round

Just because your flowers aren’t blooming doesn’t mean you have to have empty boxes all over your yard. Window boxes and hanging baskets are perfect spots to put some winter-hardy plants like mini-spruces, evergreens, holly and more. You also could fill the containers with an assortment of evergreen boughs, twigs and branches, which require zero maintenance and add texture to your landscape

Keep things neat

Ensuring your yard looks neat and clean goes a long way to creating a welcoming facade. That includes shoveling clear paths through the snow, tidying up dead branches and fallen leaves, and clearing your porch and stoop of any debris.

If you love to decorate or garden, wintertime doesn’t have to mean retiring for the season. Keep your skills sharp and your home looking beautiful by following these easy tips for creating a hardy winter landscape, and check out our Pinterest board for some additional ideas.

Interested in talking about how to create a home you’ll love to decorate year round? Get in touch today.

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