Focus on tree bark for winter interest
Trees add winter interest to our gardens in so many ways. Even their ability to catch snow and hold it on their branches adds immense beauty to our winter gardens. Here a tufted titmouse uses a small branch as a landing spot during a snow squall.
Five trees, shrubs for winter interest
As fall turns to winter, we look for more subtle ways to create interest in the garden. One of the best ways, besides adding evergreens and native grasses, is to focus on planting trees and shrubs with interesting bark.
The white paperbark birches are standouts in our garden. And, to ensure the trees take centre stage, I purposely planted three clumps of white birch just outside our large dining room windows to capture their stunning beauty during all four seasons, but especially in winter.
By planting them close to the house, viewers from inside the home are able to pull out the finer detail of the bark – everything from the exfoliating (peeling) papery white bark, to the black striations that give birch trees much of their winter beauty.
It’s difficult to match the beauty of birch bark in winter, or for that matter, any time in the year.
While the stark white bark of the paper birch is an outstanding addition to any garden, our native river birches add their own winter interest with their extreme exfoliating cinnamon-coloured bark creating incredible texture in the trees’ trunks.
(The entire birch family is worth exploring if you are searching for trees with superior winter interest.)
Our native River Birch trees offer outstanding exfoliating cinnamon-coloured bark to our gardens.
The exfoliating bark not only catches our attention throughout the seasons, it is also a magnet for insects to hide throughout the winter. Don’t be surprised to see birds regularly checking out the exfoliating bark for a quick snack. The bark can also be a perfect spot for seed-eating birds to tuck away food for later in winter.
Don’t overlook the Paperbark Maple
The Paperbark Maple is often overlook as a tree providing winter interest.
Another outstanding addition in our garden that takes advantage of the inherent beauty of exfoliating bark against a backdrop of snow is the Paperbark Maple. Although not a native tree, the paperbark maple is an elegant understory tree that does well in a woodland garden.
Like the birches, paperbark maples earn most of their praise for their exfoliating, cinnamon-coloured bark that can be a showstopper throughout the seasons, but especially in winter when it’s copper-coloured trunk stands out against the white snow.
Of course, these are the more obvious trees with outstanding winter bark foliage. There are more, less obvious, woodland trees and shrubs that offer their own interest in more subtle ways, from mottled colours and extreme texture in the bark, to more gnarly looking trunks that come into their own against a snowy background.
Let’s take a look at a few more trees and shrubs with outstanding winter interest.
All Japanese Maples provide outstanding year-round interest, but the coral bark Japanese Maple is truly a standout during the winter months.
Red- yellow twigged dogwood: When it comes to shrubs for winter interest, red- and yellow- twig dogwoods (Cornus spp. and cvs.) are easily on the top of the list. They are strong performers in zones 3-9 and have long been planted en-masse for spectacular winter statements in the garden. Newer hybrids such as Arctic Fire from Proven Winners offer even more vibrant colour than native varieties, but try to stick to our native varieties or combine them with newer introductions from Proven Winners such as Arctic Sun Cornus sanguine in zones 4-8. (Grows 3-4 feet tall and wide) Yellow twig also boasts hybrids that perform well such as ‘Bud’s Yellow’ (6-8 feet tall). Consider planting these shrubs in front of darker evergreens such as cedars to bring out the best colour in their bark. Annual pruning of about one third of growth will help the shrub maintain their colourful branches.
Japanese Maple particularly the Coral Bark Maples: Combine outstanding summer and fall interest with stunning coral-red bark that takes centre stage in winter. It’s pretty tough to beat a Coral Bark Maple for outstanding winter interest in the understory of the garden. There are several hybrids available including the “Sango-Kaku” with its delicate leaves that open pinkish-yellow before changing to a light green in summer followed by a bright yellow in fall. These trees can be grown as a shrub or small tree. Like most Japanese Maples, it is a slow grower with an upright form.
Black Cherry Prunus serotina . (also known as wild cherry trees is another favourite: Our native Cherry trees boast a lovely mahogany-coloured bark when they are young, becoming dark and flaky as they mature. In spring, bunches of small white flowers appear after the first leaves have fully developed. These flowers become dark red cherries from August to early September (8 to 10 millimetres across). These trees are valuable forest trees for wildlife. They provide a good food source for up to 33 species of birds and many mammal species also eat its fruit. It is also of special value to many of our native bees as well as bumble bees and honey bees. These trees are a larval host plant for Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Cherry Gall Azure, Viceroy, Columbia Silkmoth, Promethea Moth, Small-eyed Sphinx Moth, Wild Cherry Sphinx Moth, Banded Tussock Moth, Band-edged Prominent and the Spotted Apatelodes.
Adding trees to your garden, as well as grasses, goes a long way to transforming a dull landscape into a winter wonderland. Here a combination of mature and understory trees combine with grasses to bring the winter landscape to life.
These are just a few of the trees we can add to our gardens, not only to create winter interest, but to attract a wealth of wildlife from native bees and birds, to mammals such as chipmunks, squirrels and foxes.
Winter is the perfect time to begin planning additions to our gardens. Take the time to do some research to find the perfect trees for your backyard. Remember to always look for native trees if possible and ensure that they will grow in your zone.
