5 Key Items To Add To Your Landscape That Will Bring Color And Life To A Dreary Wisconsin Winter

By Author: Steven Becker
Total Articles: 16
Comment this article

If you are like many of us, you dread the thought of winter. You hate the idea of a cold, lifeless, colorless, and dreary day. Well, even though winter is dreadful; especially where I am from in Milwaukee Wisconsin, there are still a few landscaping tips that you can use to bring a little life and color to your winter.

1) Landscape with Pine and Spruce Trees, nothing will liven up a winter landscape like a hillside lined with Eastern White Pines, or the refreshing color of a healthy Colorado Blue Spruce. Used in the right areas, such as planting on berms or on hill sides, these trees will bring privacy and interest to your home and give you the feeling that you are up north, in a cabin tucked away in the in the woods.

2) Don't forget about Broadleaf Evergreen Shrubs. They can do wonders to bring a little life to your winter flower beds. Unfortunately, there are not a lot of broadleaf evergreens that will survive the Wisconsin winters. But a few of the broadleaf evergreen shrubs and plants that will survive are some select strains of hollies, rhodendrums, boxwood, barberry, and winter creeper. Keep in mind ...
... that boxwood and rhodendrums are especially sensitive to strong chilling winter winds.

3) Even though you might have lost the colorful leaves, consider the color of the fruit left behind. Many berry producing trees will hold onto their fruit until the mid winter, bringing color to your landscape and food for the wildlife. Crabapples are especially good for this; they have a small bright red crab apple that will normally stay on the tree until mid winter. Hollies are another shrub that will also produce a bright red berry. Mountain Ash is another tree that produces a bright berry and will feed many birds, but the berries can be a bit of a mess, so it is not recommended to plant over a patio or driveway. The Mountain Ash is not susceptible to the Emerald Ash Borer, but does have its own problems with certain diseases, but a beautiful tree none the less.

4) Choose trees with interesting bark. This can do wonders to add a little interest to your dreary winter landscape. Choose trees that have interesting ex-foliating bark; such as River Birch, China Snow Lilac, and Paper Bark Maple Trees.

5) Consider the color of the bark. While brown can be boring for a winter landscape, you can add color with shrubs and trees with bright red bark. Some options are Coral Bark Japanese Maple Trees, Salix Flame Willows, and Red Twig Dogwoods.
Well I hope I was able to give you some tips to make your winter a little more enjoyable. Give your local landscaper a call to show you how these trees can be worked into your landscape plans. Or if you are from the area, feel free to make me your Milwaukee Landscaper of choice.

Take a look at my Online Milwaukee Tree Farm to see pictures and details of the trees that I mentioned in this article.

I am a landscape Contractor and Tree Mover in the Milwaukee Wisconsin area. I specialize in Mature Landscaping; and do Landscape Design, Privacy Screens, Berms, Tree Lines, Bed Maintenance, Mulching, and more. By Mature Landscaping you will make an Instant Impact to your yard and will be able to enjoy it for years. With my tree spade I can plant, move, and install Big Trees that will provide instant privacy and shade, where others can't.

I have a large selection of trees for sale (evergreens, shade trees, ornamental, and flowering) on my website along with many other helpful hints and detailed information about a variety of different trees. Please take the time to visit my Milwaukee Garden Center to find information and helpful tips that will assist you on your landscaping projects. All the prices are listed for all my trees so this will help you to make your price comparisons.

Good Luck and Happy Landscaping!

Steven Becker
Owner
Tree Transplanters, llc