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Appreciation of the Fall & Winter Garden:
Seeds, Silhouettes and Shadows
Days are short, nights are long and the real work of the garden is done. No tilling, no mowing or weeding, and quiet times are ahead. An excellent time for reflecting and planning will be at hand.
Take a lesson in design from nature. Winter's starkness exposes the structures of your garden in shadows and silhouettes and it is a great time to reflect on your season's efforts. Your customers will be walking their gardens in fall and looking out of frosty windows for points of interest. If you have planned well they will have something to experience everyday.  
Magnificent alien-looking seed heads like those of the clematis with twining vines and flaking bark, tall majestic plumes of ornamental grasses in vivid silver with yellows and orange foliage or maybe beautiful berries that will feed the birds through the winter such as those from the Celastrus scandens are all smart options.
The great designers plan for 365 days of interest from a palette of rich colors, textures and plant structures. Fall provides and amazing array of new things to see if you have planned well. Give us a call or email us and we are more than happy to advise you on a plant's seasonal appearances as they change.
There is also wonder in the winter garden. We recently advised in our last newsletter against cutting back ornamental grasses in the fall. Waiting until just before they are going to flush in the spring has many of benefits. Small clutches of birds or burrowing wildlife will use it for shelter and food. Keeping the foliage intact also makes an interesting foundation for frost, snow or ice turning them into natural sculptures. These sculptures will appear from every window of the house and continue to change as the winter days go on.
As you well know, many plants go into winter dormancy but our imaginations don't. In your garden planning and  designs, be sure to consider these dormant seasons as a potential for a whole new type of enjoyment for your customers. When planting out your designs be sure to walk your client through the finished producted and point out the fall and winter interests of the plants that you have selected for them so that they can anticipate the experience. Many people have no idea what their gardens have in store for them in the cold weather.
Rosemary Verey said "Good bones are important, so it is wise to go slowly and get your plan right before launching into a vital project." We are firm believers of that very Verey idea. Even shadows become more obvious, causing new dimensions and drama. Adding weeping trees, unusual branch patterns and "snowcatcher" plants lend themselves to promoting this type of drama.
In the spring, with explosions of colors and textures we are often distracted from the fact that winter is just a few short months away. Still it is a key time to consider the winter view in the basic structures and outlines of your garden design. The "bones" will be exposed and will take on a much greater importance. Perhaps this winter you can take notice as travel over the holidays through roads and neighborhoods and see exactly what we mean. The winterscape is is a design layer and dimension that should be carefully considered in our garden designs. It may be the Verey thing that could seperate you from other designers.
Please feel free to call or email us and we will be happy to share with you some of our perennials that fit the bill for fall and winter interest. We look forward to hearing from you. | 
