During the winter, our landscaping and gardens tend to look dreary and colourless. While this is a natural result of the cold winter weather, there are a few ways to bring colour and a bit of life to your garden this season.

1. Add colour with plants

While most plants, trees and shrubs lose their foliage and go dormant over the winter, there are a few plants you can add to your landscaping to bring some greenery and colour to your garden.

• Evergreens keep their needles throughout the year and look beautiful with a fresh dusting of snow.
• Lenten roses (also known as hellebores) flower in the winter and early spring and come in a range of colours including pink, white and deep, almost-black purple.
• Coloured-twig dogwoods lose their leaves in the winter but they reveal red, yellow or orange stems underneath.

If you’re considering planting trees in the spring, choose trees with interesting bark that will add texture to your winter landscape.

2. Plant colourful containers

If you’ve missed the window for planting winter colours in your garden beds, containers are an excellent choice and can add interest and colour to your front porch or back deck. Consider plants like ornamental grasses of all varieties, which look beautiful even when they’re dormant. You can also include conifers like juniper and false cypress, or other varieties of dwarf evergreens for an instant pop of colour.

3. Attract birds to your garden

Aside from adding colour to your garden, attracting birds can also add life and interest to your garden throughout the winter. If you don’t cut back dormant perennials, their seeds will provide a food source for birds. Throughout the season, consider prioritizing native plants in your landscaping so that the birds will have a food source come winter time. You can also provide water for birds with a heated bird bath.

4. Emphasize hardscape elements

Over the winter, you may notice areas of your landscape that could be improved by hardscape elements. Hardscaping is an effective way to add visual interest that your garden may be lacking. Hardscape elements like trellises, retaining walls and stone pavers can bring much-needed enhancements to your winter garden and will look beautiful all year round.

At TLC Landscaping, we can help bring your landscaping to life at any time of year. Get in touch to start working on your spring landscaping projects!