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Now that we are in the depths of winter, it is a good time to examine your yard for winter interest. While we often think of flowering plants as the sole source of color or interest, many plants have other interests. While often relegated to a supporting or background role in the season, colorful conifers become stars of the winter landscape. Many shapes, sizes, colors and textures are available.

Plants with fruit in the winter often provide two sources of interest - color from the fruit themselves and the activity of birds and other wildlife. Ornamental crabapples now have the ability to provide food for birds throughout the winter. Johnson's Nursery carries one of the largest selections of ornamental crabapples in the country. Contact us to help you select the best crabapple for your landscape.

      

Washington Hawthorn, black chokeberry, barberries, cranberrybush viburnums and many junipers also provide colorful fruits for birds' enjoyment and ours.




Bark interest can also be a source of winter enjoyment. The smooth, sinewy bark of musclewood can easily be seen now as well as many colors of redosier dogwood. Evergreens can have showy bark as demonstrated by lacebark pine with a patchwork of green, white and gray.

Look for egg masses of gypsy moth and destroy them. The egg masses are covered with yellow to tannish hairs and are typically attached to the underside of branches, beneath or among loose bark, on recreational vehicles which sit long periods of time, on firewood, under eaves of homes and inside protective plastic tree spirals (if left on year round). Removal of these large egg masses greatly helps to lessen the amount of defoliation.

Now is the time to Contact Johnson's Nursery to schedule spring cleanup services, which can include: raking up debris and leaves, cutting back perennials, fertilizing or re-mulching your planting beds.