Believe it or not, your yard doesn’t have to look dull and lifeless during the cold days of winter. Here’s how you can turn your outdoor space into a beautiful area that boasts colour and interest through the changing seasons.

Use perennials like shrubs to create year-round structure in your garden

Planting perennial shrubs and evergreen trees will add some much-needed structure to a four-season garden. They’ll also add texture during the warmer months and provide bursts of colour throughout the winter. Along with bushes and trees, you can look for flowering shrubs like pussy willow, hydrangea and weigela. Smaller shrubs are especially easy to care for and can still give shape and contrast to your yard.

To add some warmer colours to your garden in the winter months, evergreens like Photinia (great for adding a vibrant and striking red to the garden) and Daphne (great for softer, yellow and pink tones) will do the trick.

Put in a variety of plants that flower at different times of year

The key to achieving year-round colour is to make sure you plant different plants that flower at different points of the year, in addition to planting all-season shrubs and evergreens.

For Spring, add flowering bulbs like pansy, tulip, daffodil and peony, which all offer gorgeous bright colours. For summer blooms, try rose, zinnia, daylily and black-eyed Susan. Great autumn plants include pansy, mums, asters and sedum. When it comes to winter, opt for camellia, hollies, snowdrops and even some chokeberry bushes for a really colourful winter display.

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Use contrasting foliage

Take your garden from dull to dazzling with some fabulous foliage. It’s great for creating colour and interest – especially in winter when there are few flowers about. You can get plants with foliage in all shapes, sizes and shades of colour, so it’s easy to add impact to any outdoor setting. From shrubs and perennials to small trees and annuals, be sure to combine plants of opposing textures and colours to create more interest.

Festival cordylines are easy to grow and are a real show stopper in small and large gardens, especially when you opt for burgundy shades of this foliage plant. Pacific coprosmas is another head-turner, and is perfect for year-round glossy and colourful foliage.

Add items of interest

There’s much more to building a stunning garden than just growing plants. Garden features are just as important as flowers and shrubs for attracting onlookers and creating year-round interest. Best of all, there’s a feature to suit any budget and yard style. For example, a rockery made from rocks that are natural to your area will make an attractive feature in your garden. Pathways look beautiful too, and they can be made from a variety of materials to complement the overall style of your outdoor space. Arches and trellises are both practical and decorative and can really make your garden stand out.

Every thought of adding a bridge? Whether you choose to make your own or purchase one, a bridge can really boost the wow-factor of your yard. Water features, such as fountains, bird baths and ponds are also great for adding interest to your garden.

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If you’re planning the design of your new garden, check out our blog for more ideas and inspiration.