By Kristen Hannum –
Imagine trudging through the gloomy, freezing winter woods, in either Europe or the eastern United States. Everything looks dead under an overcast sky. Coming across a holly tree, with its glossy green leaves and bright red berries would feel almost magical, a promise of rebirth and spring.
Create a winter garden with pleasing colors and textures.
We’re lucky here in Colorado; our winter landscapes are bright and varied, usually under blue skies and, in many places, with stunning red rocks or blue mountain peaks in the distance.
Instead of listing a bunch of December gardening chores (are those roses protected?), I’d like to suggest you take a look at your garden, now, in its winter robe.
Winter gardens can delight the eye with touches of contrast, which is part of what makes our Colorado landscapes so beautiful. Contrast is a key to garden design, even in the winter. Would an accent plant provide a contrast that would be magical, like the holly in the dark European woods?
Trina Donahue, general manager of Camelot Gardens in Montrose, urges local gardeners to consider red twig dogwoods for contrast. “It’s such a pretty color, especially in the snow,” she says.
Beyond their striking good looks, the red twig dogwoods are Colorado natives that are hardy up to 10,000 feet. Although the folks at Colorado State University Extension classify the bush, which is 6 to 10 feet high when mature, as preferring moderate to high moisture, Donahue counts the bush as being tolerant of both wet and dry conditions.
Red twig dogwood Would an evergreen beautify your winter landscape? If you have a place for one, it’s possible to buy it now. Now that Christmas tree lights are LEDs, Donahue notes that you can use them on your live tree; the lights are cool and won’t trick the tree out of its winter dormancy. Leave it in a container on the deck until spring, when the ground is warm enough to plant it.
She’s also excited about the growing popularity of the weeping white spruce, a gorgeous, columnar spruce that Dr. Seuss would have loved. This tree can reach 50 feet with a 10-foot spread and would make a great focal point of a garden.
Although it’s difficult, it’s not impossible to grow holly in Colorado. I long thought holly loved Colorado because it felt invasive in front of my mother’s Denver house. We cut it back annually as it threatened to overwhelm her pines and junipers, which I think were the key to those hollies’ exuberant happiness.
Hollies want acidic soil, such as that under well-established conifers. They don’t like Colorado’s brilliant winter sunshine, and so appreciate being partially shaded under the embracing branches of those pines and junipers. Hollies, such as Blue Girl and Blue Boy or Blue Prince and Blue Princess, have half a chance here. Hollies are dioecious, meaning there are male and female plants. You need one male holly for up to five females in order to provide the pollen that will make red berries, which in turn will so charmingly decorate your home in holiday seasons to come.