|
Beautiful barks and twigs brighten winter scenes November 8, 1999 As I've grown older, I've learned to appreciate the winter season. I've grown especially fond of the graceful silhouettes of stately old trees- those not butchered and disfigured by topping, that is. The winter season brings out the more subtle details of the landscape. No longer hidden beneath a coat of foliage, the beautiful textures of bark and the elegant structural forms of landscape trees and shrubs become the focal point. Several tree varieties offer outstanding winter color and texture. The paper-bark maple (Acer griseum) is not often seen in landscapes today because it is difficult to propagate, but is surely worthy of a prominent spot in the garden. The rich brown bark exfoliates and curls away from the branches to reveal beautiful cinnamon and red-brown underwoods. The bluish green trifoliate leaves are somewhat reminiscent of some Japanese maple forms. At first glance you might mistake a paper-bark maple for a river birch since both have exfoliating (peeling) bark and grow to about the same height-20 to 30 feet. Like the birches, paper-bark maples look best when grown in clumps of three or five main trunks to accentuate the beauty of the bark. I've seen them used as the focal points of entrance plantings and patio gardens. The result is exquisite. I know of only one paper-bark maple locally. It is a beautiful specimen located at the home of Jerry and Jean Grebner. Lace-bark elm (Ulmus parviflora) is another tree with exfoliating bark. The winding curls of bark reveal patches of tan and white producing lace-like patterns on the trunk. The tree has dark green glossy leaves that turn bright yellow in fall, although some varieties have a red color in autumn. Mature lace-bark elms have upright to broad forms and can be 40 feet tall or more. The decorative features of this tree are so outstanding that you'll find it used extensively throughout Disney World in Orlando. On a smaller scale, there are some shrubs that can bring excitement to the winter landscape. For example, a well pruned red twig dogwood (Cornus alba), with its bright red twigs and branches looks elegant atop a blanket of new-fallen snow. I say "well pruned" because the beauty is easily diminished if dead brown branches are not cut away. Actually, color coding makes the red-twig dogwood easy to care for. Just cut away the dead brown and black branches and leave the live red ones. Nurserymen even suggest that you prune away a full third of the shrub each spring because it is the youngest branches that carry the best winter color The variegated form of the red twig dogwood is particularly useful in the landscape. The leaves are green with irregular creamy-white margins. In summer breezes the fluttering leaves seem to shimmer and glisten. Burning bush (Euonymus alata) is already widely hailed for its brilliant scarlet fall foliage but the structure of the shrub is a valuable landscape detail as well. Each stem has two to four corky wings giving the shrub its other common name, winged euonymus. The branches and stems have a strong angular appearance in winter. New-fallen snow caught up in the wings of the branches gives a pleasing visual effect. A selection called "Nordine's Strain" is smaller and hardier than the species and worth the effort to find. Take some time this winter to observe the landscape. You're sure to find a shrub or tree to suit your fancy and bring some winter excitement to your garden.
|
|
SUNNYFIELD.COM
Copyright © 2003 Sunnyfield Farm,
Inc. All rights reserved. Last modified: October 25, 2003 |
