Landscape Designs for the Winter Season

A fresh blanket of snow is a beautiful sight to see—and just a few simple landscape design elements can help you magnify this look for a stunning aesthetic that’s the epitome of a winter wonderland. All it takes is a little mindfulness when it comes to the type of foliage you plant and tend on your property.

Here’s a look at some of the best ways you can do your landscape in the winter, using flora that looks great all year round.

Embrace evergreens and other coniferous plants

Evergreens have become a staple in winter landscapes. Spruces, firs, pines and more are great options for those who want the winter look without as much work as some other plants require.  These conifers can handle the cold, and they also thrive in blustery, snowy conditions.

Evergreens are some of the most well-loved wintertime plants for good reason. Their long needles and bushy appearance evoke a feeling of a winter wonderland whether there’s snow on the ground or not. And, when the snow does fall, their branches collect it to create stunning stillness of both sight and sound.

Make room for ornamental grasses

Ornamental grasses make the winter landscape stand out with contrasting textures and shapes. Beautiful prairie grasses like blue grama (Bouteloua gracilis) will slowly form interesting seed heads that create breathtaking focal points for your designs.

Ornamental grasses are especially useful in the winter when, without any leaves on trees or shrubs, your yard can look a little bare. Weave these into your designs and showcase their forms and shadows with strong lines and silhouettes.

Don’t forget winter fruit trees

Apples, pears, plums and more are all great choices that offer beautiful pink or white blossoms during the spring before dropping their colorful foliage for the fall season. But winter fruit trees are also a must-have if you’re looking to create winter landscapes. Consider sprucing up your landscape with some ornamental cherries, and remember that—far from being a nuisance fruit—crabapples are stunning options against a snowy backdrop.

Add a pop with exfoliating bark

Incorporate exfoliating bark into your winter landscape designs for pops of color and texture. Exfoliating barks, such as river birch (Betula nigra), offer a unique look that’s eye-catching on any property. Be sure to select a tree with a trunk that has a dark-colored bark for best results. Paperbark maple is another great option that has a striking reddish-brown bark that’s truly beautiful when the snow hits.

Cultivate a beautiful winter landscape

How can you design your landscape when it’s wintertime? Start by making liberal use of evergreens and other coniferous foliage. Embrace ornamental grasses with fun seed heads and add pops of color from trees and shrubs with exfoliating bark. And, of course, don’t forget about the accent a wintertime fruit-bearing tree can add. From there, sit back and watch your winter wonderland come to life!

Need help putting together a magical landscape design that exemplifies the winter season? Call the team at Rand Hill Lawns, Inc. today and let us help you put the finishing touches on a landscape that looks resplendent all winter long.

Categorised in: Landscaping