Seasonal delight: If it has good bones, even that winter garden will delight the eye

Is your landscape appealing throughout the year? If not, you may be lacking the elements that create the year-round interest referred to as the bones of the garden.

Garden bones are elements that add color or structure to catch the eye. Shades of brown and tan are beautiful in large spaces like the Flint Hills but can appear monochromatic in the smaller areas surrounding your home. Winter can already be bleak, adding to the dull winter blues.

Adding needed year-round interest can be accomplished by dotting the landscape with evergreens. The pop of color and their natural growth structure help play off the winter landscape’s less bold shades.

Evergreens are essential and should always be found in a well-landscaped home. The plant materials in the entrance planting should be at least one-third evergreen. This basic landscape rule can be applied throughout the entire garden, not just the front.

The one-third rule for the entrance planting provides year-round interest while allowing enough space for spring and summer flowers, as well as fall colors. Too many evergreens do not create positive landscape changes throughout the year. They are static, changing little throughout the year, and can be overused.

Surprisingly, evergreens are not just green. Shades of blue-gray may be found in spruces, and yellow golds are common in junipers or false cypress. Adding a variety of colors increases the dramatic effect of the winter bones.

Consider planting evergreens with varying spreading, upright, weeping or rounded habits.

Aside from color, form and texture can also help draw the eye in winter. Even deciduous plants have engaging structures or textures. Weeping or columnar shapes make strong accents to catch the eye.

A good approach when adding year-round appeal to your garden is to stand inside the home and look out. Do you see a winter scene that holds your attention?

The bones of a garden are year-round focal points. They need to shine from many angles. Group or mass them to soften the home or draw attention to the door in front of the house.

In the backyard, these shapes can be planted in mass or used as accents. Mass plantings include groupings of evergreen trees that add beauty and function, such as a windbreak or screen. Accents are created by placing a single plant in a prime location that helps pull the landscape together, causing the eye to stop, linger and make that much-needed focal point. It only takes a few accents to create key visual areas.

These cold winter days are perfect for standing at the window and gazing into the yard. Let your eyes and mind wander, and quickly, you will know where those shapes, or bones, should find a place in the garden.

Dennis Patton is a horticulture agent with Kansas State University Research and Extension. Need help? Contact the Johnson County Extension gardening hotline at 913-715-7050 or email garden.help@jocogov.org.