9 WAYS TO CREATE INTEREST IN THE WINTER GARDEN

1. Celebrate texture. With a dusting of frost over a muted winter garden, one?s eye is drawn to the different textures in the landscape. To highlight texture, choose a variety of plants with different growth habits, such as fine-textured grasses and sturdy-branched shrubs. For most climates, it?s best to wait until spring to plant, but winter can be the ideal time to make a plan and choose plant varieties. Here, delicate branches, round seed heads from summer flowers, and wispy tufts of ornamental grasses create an interesting play of textures.

Jay Sifford Garden Design

2. Showcase garden structure. Winter gardens can have quiet, peaceful simplicity. Clean up moldering warm-season plants, and spread a fresh layer of bark to accentuate the geometric forms of evergreen shrubs and trees. Take advantage of the absence of perennials to reassess areas of the garden that could benefit from evergreens planted for privacy screening in spring.

J. Peterson Garden Design

3. Grow cool-season crops. In mild-winter climates, plant seedlings for cool-season edibles like kale, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, sugar snap peas, mustard greens, collards, Brussels sprouts, onions and garlic. For colder regions, grow cool-season edibles in raised beds under a cold frame. Many edible greens, such as ?Red Russian? kale and purple cabbage, are ornamental enough to grow as part of container displays.