Pick up any landscape book, and the primary focus will be on how the yard and plants look while the leaves are out, the grass is green and the flowering plants are in their full glory.
But look out the window right now, and you can't help but notice that all those seasonal features are gone.
The reality is that in northern New York the leaves are out for six months at the most. So in addition to considering how the plants in your yard will look during the summer, it's equally important to consider how they'll look the other half of the year.
I love flower gardens, but they basically disappear from view in the winter. It helps to add a few shrubs and even a small tree or two to a long flower bed to provide some structure for interest during the winter.
Even non-plant features such as a split rail or other type of fence, a birdbath or stone wall can provide some height and texture and an appealing place for snow to pile up.
If you like to attract birds to your yard, it helps to plant some shrubs with lots of twiggy branches. This gives them safe places to perch with some protection from wind and predators.
But lately I've become fond of pruning off some of the lower side branches on my more upright shrubs to make a more interesting framework in winter. In summer, the leaves hide the branches so it's only when the leaves drop that this framework is revealed.
I enjoy watching these changes throughout the year. I figure that as long as we live in a climate with long winters, we might as well do as much as we can to make them enjoyable.
You can also add plants to your yard specifically for their winter interest. White or paper birches are a classic example. But consider "Heritage" river birch as an alternative because it has fewer pest problems. The bark on "Heritage" peels away with age the way the white birches do, but its bark is a beautiful cinnamon color instead of pure white.
Another small tree with interesting bark is the Japanese tree lilac. The bark of this tree looks a lot like a cherry tree, dark and shiny with decorative lenticels dotted across it. This is a good choice for many reasons, including its later bloom time in June when most other spring flowering trees and shrubs are finished.
For shrubby plants in winter I enjoy the look of both the red-stemmed and yellow-stemmed dogwoods. These shrubs have a rounded shape and are nice when planted in a group. Their names do a good job of describing their bright, colorful bark in winter.
The color is especially bright on the youngest stems, so this is a plant that does well when cut to the ground in the spring every few years. This rather drastic pruning is easy to do and results in a surge of new, colorful shoots. Birds also enjoy the cover these twiggy plants provide.
Although you can't plant anything right now, this is an excellent time of year to see where your yard needs a little more winter interest. Look around your neighborhood to see what plants you like the look of and are doing well, then make a list of what you plan to buy next spring.
Amy Ivy is executive director of Cornell Cooperative Extension, Clinton County. Office phone numbers: Clinton County, 561-7450, Essex County, 962-4810, Franklin County, 483-7403. Website: www.cce.cornell.edu/ecgardening. Email questions to askMG@cornell.edu.
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