The garden in winter

Snow-covered gardens are a sculptural delight. — richardcjones/Creative Commons

In winter, the garden bares its soul.

Reduced to duff are the vivid leaves of autumn that set the woods aflame. Gone are the lush flowers and foliage that softened the landscape’s contours in summer. Barely a memory are the pastel tints of fat spring buds that put flesh on the bony limbs of shrubs and trees.

But winter is hardly without reasons to leave your toasty hearth and get outside in the crisp, invigorating air. For one thing, it clears the head; for another, it can give you fresh perspective on how well your outdoor designs hold up stripped of living embellishment. Now, in the dormant season, under the oblique light of the winter sun, the structure of the garden stands revealed, and details overlooked in other seasons stand out.

Forests of deciduous trees have become transparent, their architecture of branch and twig plainly exhibited. Some trees draw attention to their bark — think of the satiny red sheath of cherry, the gnarled fissures of locust, the peeling curls of birch and the mottled patterns of sycamore and stewartia. Some giants, like mature beeches and oaks, are impressive for their sheer size alone now that you can see clear to the treetops.

Evergreens come to the fore as other plants retreat into dormancy. Of course, to call them “evergreen” is to overlook the palette of color among broadleaf species and conifers. There are warm golds, steely blues, silvery grays and russets. Leaves and needles might show subtle variegations, and surfaces can be matte or shiny, absorbing or scattering light.

The designs a gardener has drawn on the ground take on new importance when ephemeral living “stuff” has been pared away. The line of a hedge stretching around a plot or snaking down a boundary defines space, as does the mass of a stone wall. Paths now appear not only as a means to an end but as elements in a pattern that describes how a piece of land is used.

The winter garden is probably at its most enchanting under a frosting of ice and snow. But let’s not look a gift horse in the mouth. Unexpectedly mild winter days offer great opportunities to wander around outdoors, hunting for off-season pleasures close to home in your own garden, or farther afield in parks, gardens and preserves.

Scan the tree line and you may spot abandoned birds' nests hung in bare branches. Keep your eyes to the ground and you may discover evergreen ferns and mosses that in a lusher season escape attention. Search damp earth or snow for telltale footprints of wildlife on the move.

Bright holly berries under snow. — Tambako the Jaguar/Creative Commons

Follow your nose and you may identify boxwood's astringent aroma or the tangy scent of newly unfurled witch hazel blossoms. And listen — is that the distant honk of geese on the wing, the chittering of chickadees or the tapping of woodpeckers on hollow tree trunks? Winter may be restrained, but it's hardly lifeless.

If your own garden looks dreary in the cold months, now is a good time to go shopping for ideas to give it vitality in winter. Maybe a few winter-blooming pansies near the back door would keep the blues at bay. Ornamental kale (which has fans and detractors) hangs onto its vivid leaf color through mid-winter. Colored stems and berries can create bright splashes in an otherwise monochromatic picture.

Most design experts recommend grouping plants with winter interest for the greatest impact. A clump of evergreens of different habits and foliage colors could shelter a handsome piece of statuary, for instance. Shrubby willows with gold or scarlet branches might be grouped to catch the late afternoon light.

But there's nothing wrong with tucking a few surprises into an existing border. Add a nandina, known as "heavenly bamboo," and you can have red leaves and berries all winter. Spread a carpet of arum under a tree, and you can enjoy marbled green-and-white leaves in winter — this backwards plant goes dormant and disappears in summer.

Winter makes us appreciate stark shadows, subtle textures, hushed woodlands and sleeping gardens, and its slower rhythms balance the frantic energy of the growing season. It's a season to hone the eye and replenish the spirit.

If you think of it this way, winter is not merely a dull interlude but a welcome respite. It's enough to make you pity the ever-busy warm climate gardener. Spring, with all of its insistent demands, will be here soon enough.

MORE INSPIRATION

• “Wonders of the Winter Landscape” by Vincent Simeone (Ball Publishing). Plants for winter interest are described in depth.

• “Winter Gardening” by Steven Bradley (Time-Life Books).. A collection of ideas and projects for the winter months.

• “The Four-Season Landscape” by Susan Roth (Rodale Press). Smart advice about providing continuous garden interest. Includes detailed lists of noteworthy plants.

• “A Garden for All Seasons” edited by John Palmer (Reader’s Digest. Planting schemes that hold up 12 months a year, with advice on bridging the seasons.