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From Evergreen to Wintergreen – Plants that don’t drop their leaves in wintertime are an important element in garden design. Coniferous and broad-leaved plantings will enhance the garden with needed color in winter and also lend it structure. Among these plants, distinctions are made between so-called evergreens, semi-evergreens, and wintergreens. 

Evergreen plants keep their leaves from three to eleven years. Leaf replacement takes place gradually over the course of the year and so is hardly noticeable. Some evergreens include the coniferous plants, the cherry laurel (Prunus laurocerasus), and the leatherleaf viburnum (Viburnum rhytidophyllum).

Semi-evergreen denotes those plants that stay green during mild winters and only drop their leaves under very cold conditions. This group includes Akebia and oval-leafed privet.

Wintergreen is the term for those plants that keep their foliage until spring; only then do they refresh their leaves with new budding that is all but unnoticeable. Among the wintergreens are the firethorm (Pyracantha coccinea) and varieties of Waterer’s cotoneaster (Cotoneaster x watereri hybrids).

Although called evergreen or wintergreen, the color spectrum of the various foliages is considerably wider, extending from luminous yellow through an array of green nuances to blue tones. Attractive blue tones can be found among some cedars and juniper, hints of yellow among cypress and yews. Several holly varieties (Ilex) and the euonymous ‘Emerald ‘n’ Gold’ even have impressively multicolored leaves.

Trees, hedges, grasses

Evergreens can create accents in the garden as distinctive solitaire plantings or form thick, protective hedges to mitigate traffic noise and provide a visual barrier. Most evergreen shrubs are also excellently suited to topiary trimming. Among the classics here is boxwood (Buxus sempervirens). Fantastical garden forms appear in winter when fine snow falls on topiaries and they appear to have been sprinkled with powdered sugar. To counteract the sad, wintery gray of walls and masonry, try climbing evergreen plants such as honeysuckle (Lonicera), ivy (Hedera), or creeping Euonymus, which needs a structure for support. Ivy is available with a wide array of foliage. Among the prettiest is Hedera helix ‘Goldheart,’ whose leaves are colored luminous yellow at the center.

Some grasses – such as various types of sedge (Carex) and the thick, pillowy forms of bearskin fescue (Festuca gautieri) – are similarly wintergreen. Bamboo (Phyllostachys) counts among the genus of grasses, too; many of the 47 varieties are frost hardy and won’t lose their leaves in the cold. Bamboo comes in a broad spectrum of types and heights, from one foot tall to the high-growing types that can reach 30 feet.

A well planted garden is appealing during the cold season, too, and – thanks to skilled planting choices – won’t completely lose its color even on gray winter days.

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