Tag: winter plants

  • Long-needled pines

    Long-needled pines

    ‘Vanderwolf’s Pyramid’ limber pine. Photo by Judith Adam
    ‘Vanderwolf’s Pyramid’ limber pine. Photo by Judith Adam

    When there’s a thin blanket of snow on the ground, it’s just enough to put a silvery gloss on the winter garden. This is when I’m grateful for every conifer in my landscape, especially those with soft needles, three to five inches (8 to 13 cm) long. They’re graceful in all seasons, swaying gently in the wind, and have an elegant texture in snow.

    There is a big Eastern white pine tree (Pinus strobus, 60 x 23 ft. /18 x 7 m, Zone 4) in the back corner with soft long needles, but it’s too far from the house to appreciate in this season. A neighbour brought it down from the north 60 years ago and planted it here when very young. The white pine is the largest of the northeastern conifers, and this baby is still growing — you wouldn’t want it anywhere close to the house!

    Just 10 feet (3 m) from the front door, I planted a hybrid limber pine tree, ‘Vanderwolf’s Pyramid’ (Pinus flexilis ‘Vanderwolf’s Pyramid’, 16 x 8 ft. / 5 x 2.5 m, Zone 5), that’s more upright and narrow than others cultivars of the species, with an open, see-through branch structure. Sunlight falls through the tree, and in summer clematis vines wander around the branches, filling it with flowers. The pine’s long blue-green needles catch falling snow, suggesting an enchanted forest on a Hollywood movie set. This is a fast-growing tree (about 24 in. / 60 cm a year, once established) and doesn’t keep anyone waiting. It has strong vigor and shoots upward, with the branches extended in a relaxed, graceful posture.

    In the back garden, there’s another long-needled tree, ‘Chalet’ Swiss stone pine (Pinus cembra ‘Chalet’, 13 x 5 ft. / 4 x 1.5 m, Zone 4). It’s a slow-growing, compact tree and has a dense conical form that makes a prominent winter profile in a perennial border and adds distinction and structure to deep summer borders.

    There is also a dwarf version of Eastern white pine. Called weeping white pine (Pinus strobus ‘Pendula’, 2 m x 3 m, Zone 4), it’s trained on stakes in youth to develop an upright leader, and then allowed to cascade in a strong weeping form that’s wider than it is tall. Each has a unique shape, and should be selected to suit its location. The branches sweep the ground and breezes easily catch their long blue-green needles. This is an elegant tree and should be placed where it can be readily appreciated.

  • Winter beauties in the garden

    Winter beauties in the garden

    Snow collects on miscanthus. (Photo by Brendan Zwelling)
    Snow collects on miscanthus. (Photo by Brendan Zwelling)

    Most gardeners leave some perennials standing over winter, hoping they’ll catch the snow and make a beautiful picture in the garden. With the first snow still fresh, now is a good time to look around to see where dried stalks and seedheads have been transformed into a winter tableau. Of course, you’ll also notice the empty areas where grasses and perennials were cut down, and perhaps next autumn you’ll let them stand.

    Tall sedums (cultivars of Sedum spectabile) are ideal for winter display, along with rudbeckias and the flower stalks of hostas, with their little seed capsules flared open and looking like miniature pagoda lanterns. The fuzzy and flamboyant seedheads of clematis are wonderful in snow, as are rosehips of any colour, and the dried, brown flowers of hydrangeas.

    In my garden, the tall stalks of black cohosh or bugbane (Actaea racemosa, syn. Cimicifuga racemosa) are spangled with round seed capsules that each catches a bonnet of snow. Ornamental grasses are also good candidates for winter display. I’ve had success with both Miscanthus sinensis ‘Morning Light’ and Calamagrostis x acutiflora ‘Karl Foerster’, both of which stand up and catch snow along their dried foliage.

    If you find that key areas near windows and doors appear vacant in these cold months, try putting an obelisk or other attractive plant support in the blank space. It will catch the snow and display its own architectural beauty.

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