Your landscape does not have to be limited to shades of green, brown and gray in the winter. It is easy make your landscape into a winter wonderland full of interesting plants with good winter characteristics.

Even tree bark can provide winter interest. River birch may be one of the first we think of but there are many others. The best plant I can think of with attractive winter bark is Sango Kaku Japanese maple, also called coral bark Japanese maple, Acer palmatum. It is a green leaf Japanese maple that grows in an upright vase shape. Leaves come out in the spring with red near the margins before maturing to their summer green color. A little gold or red may be seen in the fall, but the real show starts when the leaves drop. As temperatures drop the bark becomes a bright coral color. A few other options are paper bark maple, Acer grisseum, and Town House or Fantasy crape myrtles, Lagerstroemia fauriei. All have attractive cinnamon-colored peeling bark.

There is no better way to brighten up a winter landscape than to have plants that bloom in the winter. Besides camellias, one of my favorites is leatherleaf mahonia, Mahonia bealei. I have heard some people call this a Chinese holly, but it is not. This plant is from China but is not a holly since it has compound leaves. The leaflets are stiff with large spines. The yellow flowers are in clusters during February. Another feature that is great is fruit that looks like robin eggs and matures in late spring. It grows 6 to 8 feet tall and may reach 12 feet. Leatherleaf mahonia does best in partial shade. The leaves will bleach yellow or white in the sun. Make sure it is in a well-drained site.

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