You’ve tended your gardens all summer long and enjoyed the bright colors and fragrant blooms that resulted from your work. Now that winter is coming, don’t stop there; you can continue to have a stunning landscape throughout the cooler months. Here are some twists on old ideas that can help turn your yard into a winter wonderland. During the holidays, homeowners love to string icicle lights across the eaves or outline windows on the front of the house.
Mini lights strung on a Christmas tree have an almost magical effect. Why not create some of that magic outdoors in your garden? Hang strands of mini lights around evergreen trees, shrubs, or flowering hedges; taking care to avoid any bare trunks or branches.
If you have an outdoor statue, create a necklace out of bittersweet, add some lights and hang it around the figure’s neck. Layer spruce, cedar, or other evergreens through the slats on a garden trellis, arbor or pergola. Add some berries or pine cones and highlight with mini-lights. Natural evergreen wreaths with bright bows make a fence or post come alive, especially with added lights. Window boxes, cast iron planters or other containers can benefit from the same treatment. Just use plenty of layering with natural foliage and extend it over the edges as though it were overflowing. Add some colorful accents and lights.
Once you empty your summer planters, don’t put them away, now it’s time to begin your winter arrangement. You’ll be dealing with dead plant material so there will be no worrying about watering or fertilizing. Look to pine, spruce or cedar evergreen sprigs, dogwood branches, berries, ivy, boxwood, holly or ornamental grasses. Supplement your finds with some hardy dried plants such as heather, roses, or coneflowers. Concentrate not only on color but using a variety of shapes and textures as well.