Many homeowners who enjoy cultivating a colorful landscape find winter discouraging. Leaves can take on a dazzling array of hues in the autumn, but the period before they fall is never long enough to fully appreciate their beauty. Of course, evergreens continue to report for duty year-round, ensuring bright green highlights even on dull and cloudy days. Arbor-Nomics is primarily a lawn care company, but we also look after ornamental trees and shrubs, and we’d like to share some examples that can stand up to winter conditions while providing visual appeal.
Firethorn
The firethorn shrub, also called pyracantha, is a thorny evergreen related to the rose bush. Producing white flowers in the spring and summer and bright crimson berries in the fall and winter, it’s a pleasure to look at all year long.
Hydrangeas
These shrubs may be either evergreen or deciduous, but all of the varieties produce gorgeous flowers in a wide assortment of hues. Their high tolerance for cold means they stay beautiful well into the season of temperatures below freezing.
Juniper
Some varieties of junipers are trees (13 feet or taller with usually one “stem,” or trunk), while others are shrubs (shorter than 13 feet with multiple stems). As members of the cypress family, they’re fast-growing, cold-tolerant evergreens with small, scaly leaves and both male and female seed cones. Junipers can be distinguished by leaves so narrow they resemble needles and the unusually fleshy nature of their cones, which makes them resemble berries. These deep blue cones stay beautiful and fragrant all winter long, with the added benefit of attracting hungry songbirds who will bring music and even more color to your winter landscape.
Red Twig Dogwood
This shrub enlivens all of the seasons. In spring, it produces flowers across a range of whites into lighter yellows. Summer and fall feature bright blue berries, and the striking red branches for which it is named are on display throughout the winter.
Winterberry
This shrub is a species of holly, which means it will brighten your landscape with beautiful red berries that are toxic to cats, dogs, horses, and people. Deer can stomach them but will generally avoid them until they’re seriously hungry. Birds, however, will be happy to drop by and take advantage of your generosity.
Yew
Yew trees are conifers with astonishingly long lifespans. Some have been documented at between 400 and 600 years old. While its leaves and seeds are notoriously poisonous, the pinkish-red cups that encompass the seeds, called “arils,” are not. They’re another winter food source that will attract birds to your yard.
If you have questions about caring for any of these ornamental trees and shrubs, or about any other aspect of lawn care, an experienced lawn service company like Arbor-Nomics can answer them. In addition to weed control, we provide lawn fertilization, outdoor pest control, and much, much more. Our Certified Landscape Specialists are ready to help with all of your lawn service needs in Marietta, Alpharetta, and all surrounding metro Atlanta areas.