Conifers with blue foliage add color to the winter garden.
Beyond plants with brightly colored blooms or berries, winter landscapes can benefit from color from a variety of other sources.
Some ideas:
Plant conifers with red, gold, purple or blue foliage in winter: Chamaecyparis thyoides ‘Red Star’ (white false cypress), which is plum red); or all year: chartreuse Cupressus macrocarpa ‘Wilma Goldcrest’ (Monterey cypress) and Picea pungens ‘Sester Dwarf’ (Colorado spruce; icy-blue needles).
Build paths and patios with colored concrete, bricks or flagstone of red, orange or speckled with shiny quartz.
Place a pot or piece of art in a saturated color such as red or cobalt blue somewhere in the garden, in a spot that you see often.
Paint a portion of your fence or a wall of a garden shed or garage in a bright shade. A mural is another option.
Prunus serrula
Use plants with stunning bark. Stalwarts include stewartia (S. pseudocamellia or S. monodelpha; birch-bark cherry (Prunus serrula); and crape myrtle (Lagerstroemia species and hybrids).
Orange Carex testacea (New Zealand sedge) adds color and texture.
Choose broadleaved evergreens with blue, silver, gold and copper foliage, including rhododendrons with strong red or silver indumentum (fuzzy growth that’s usually under leaves but can be on top); bright-yellow Acorus gramineus ‘Minimus Aureus’ (dwarf sweet flag); orange Carex testacea (New Zealand sedge); and many heathers such as Calluna vulgaris ‘Firefly.’
— Kym Pokorny
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