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Winter Interest IV - Colorful Twigs and Bark

© Carol Wallace

Oh yes - one more - just in case you're feeling nostalgic for fairer weather. Leycesteria formosa, the Himalayan honeysuckle has branches of a lovely sea green. It's only hardy in zones 7 through 9, though - and at least two of those climate zones are rarely hurting for greenery in winter. Be careful, though - in at least one source I found this listed under weeds.

Pattern in the Winter Garden
I guess I'm a purist. Or maybe it's just that my garden is so large, and so much of it is situated too far from the house for wintertime subtlety. When I look for winter interest I want pure color. Texture isn't something I can enjoy from a window an acre away. But for those with sharper eyes and/or smaller gardens, many trees and shrubs exhibit interesting textures that can add more variety to the garden in winter.

Pattern is another matter - the patterns created by sun shining through a tree, or through lattice - patterns move and have a changeable life that is always fun to watch. Some patterns are random, and others quite planned. But the patterns from peeling bark are, perhaps, an acquired taste for many of us.

Many books seem to suggest that peeling bark is an advantage in winter. Perhaps so, but I spend too much time picking up the huge chunks of bark from our ancient sycamore before they smother the shade garden that surrounds it to be terribly fond of this characteristic. But many gardeners seem to find the peeling bark of the Paper Bark Maple - Acer griseum quite attractive. It is a nice, warm copper color, ranging from cinnamon to orange-red - which gains several points for it in my book. And warmth of any kind is welcome in winter - so if you have room for a specimen tree that will grow to 25-30 feet, enjoy!

Another exfoliating tree with cinnamon bark is Lagerstroemia 'Natchez' - a beautiful white-flowering crape myrtle for those lucky people in zones 6-9.

I count the white birches more as trees for color than for their exfoliating characteristics - but the peeling bark does add some texture to a landscape cloaked in smooth, white snow. And the bark of Betula nigra 'Heritage' really does peel!

Another tree that will add some white to winter is the London Plane Tree - Platanus x acerifolia, with bark that flakes off in patches of ivory and green - an almost spring-like color effect. The Chinese Elm is also known as the Lacebark Elm Ulmus parvifolia sheds its gray bark to reveal orange and brown mottling.