The cold and snow don’t have to mean that you ignore your landscape during the winter. You can enhance, protect, and prepare your outdoor property even during these cold months with the appropriate focus and efforts offered by Northern Lights Landscape Contractors. Remember these few simple do’s and don’ts as you ponder your plans for winter landscaping in Hillsborough County, NH.
Do Include Evergreens
While choosing trees to incorporate into your landscaping, remember evergreens. When your tree line consists of evergreens, you don’t have to worry that the privacy and wind protection will leave right along with the falling leaves, because they simply won’t. The color and vibrancy of evergreens will keep your landscape green throughout the long days of winter.
Do Include Berries
Be sure to include berry producers as you choose shrubs. When you choose plantings that have glossy leaves and bright red berries, you can complement the white of snow throughout the cold months, making sure that the aesthetic is colorful and cheery. Be sure to verify the requirements for the berries to appear. Often, they require two plants – one male and one female – in order for berries to grow.
Do Include Year-round Perennials
Perennials are always a great option for landscaping because of the ease of care, but you may also likely discover a range of aesthetics from one season to the next. Look into the various options likely to thrive in USDA Plant Hardiness Zones 5 and 6, using these plants to add color, texture, and variety to your landscape.
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Do Embrace Diversity
Just as using one type of plant throughout your entire softscape limits the potential of your landscape, incorporating only one or two winter thriving plantings has the same effect on your winter landscape. Instead, the landscape should include many different plantings that will offer visual interest throughout cold months. Cold weather blooming roses, shrubs with wintertime blooms, and evergreens with noticeable structure are all ideal options, and should be part of a comprehensive design.
Do Adjust Hardscapes for the Season
While you won’t have to tear down your patio, gazebo, or other hardscape for the winter, you can adjust these constructions to work for winter enjoyment. Patios should include a heat source during gatherings as well as blankets at the ready. Planting beds can easily be modified to hold a dwarf shrub for winter texture. The details matter, and you can use what already exists with some minor winter adjustments.
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Don’t Overdo the Plantings
While your landscape should include diversity and color, be careful to not overwhelm the landscape with plantings. Part of the charm of winter snow is the unbroken sheet of white. Keep this in mind as you think about your planting layout.
Don’t Omit a Comprehensive Design
Your year-round landscaping should be approached from a position of intense and comprehensive planning. With the guidance of an expert in the field, consider how your choices will work during each season and throughout the years ahead. You will be happiest with the design when it is completely and thoughtfully planned.
