Winter flowers are few and far between but that doesn’t mean your landscape has to be completely colorless this year. In place of flowers, look for trees and shrubs with winter berries. Often times, these plants are evergreen so they also act as bones in your landscape.
Pyracantha is a large evergreen shrub with wicked sharp thorns also known as firethorn. This is one of many berry nice plants that can add a pop of color to your winter garden. They also create excellent fences to deter deer and provide protected nesting places for birds because of their thorns.
Photo credit Kinsey Family Farms
European and Winterberry hollies are the traditional red berried plant of winter. Because they are evergreen and produce berries in winter, they have long been associated with celebration and protection during harsh winter months. The practice has carried over into modern day, making hollies a popular tree. However, when buying hollies, be sure to buy them in pairs. They are a Dioecious plant, which means that they are either male or female. You need one of each if you want to have berries in time for Christmas.
Photo Credit Kinsey Family Farms
Red Chokeberries are also a great berry plant. They are native to the US and are even eatable. The plant itself is a deciduous shrub that can survive in clay or wet soils. Where black chokeberries are long gone by winter, the red variety holds on to its berries well into winter. Just be sure to prune any suckers that your chokeberry might throw out, these bushes can easily outgrow a space if left to its own devices.
And regardless of which berries you choose, they look wonderful in winter arrangements! With the Red Twig Dogwood as a thriller, the turquoise pot pops!
