Native Plants to Add Color in the Snow

Since it finally snowed, and I had to get the shovel out; I figured talking about plants that create interest through the winter would be spot on.

There are a number of plants indigenous to the Midwest that can tough out the cold and add some color to an otherwise white landscape.

1. There are plants that can give your yard a splash of red as they retain their fruit in the winter.
• Red Chokeberry (Aronia arbutifolia) - This shrub / tree will lose it's foliage but should retain its berries. We have two of these, and the birds didn't seem particularly interested in the berries.
• Highbush Cranberry (viburnum trilobum) - This fairly popular shrub may also retain its berries. We also have two of these. Ours did not berry this year. In order to have success in fruiting, you need both male and female plants, so it's recommended that you multiple. We'll be adding a few more in the spring.
• American Winterberry (Ilex verticillata) - This holly will loose it's foliage, but as its name indicates should provide red berries through the winter. We plan to add a couple of these when we do our front yard in the spring.
2. Keeping your yard green in the winter is easy with the addition of some evergreens.
• Eastern White Pine, White Spruce, Balsam Fir, and Eastern Red Cedar are just some of the evergreens native to the upper Midwest (note that popular Blue Spruce, which is native to the US, is not native to the Midwest).
• Common Juniper (Juniperus communis) - This plant comes in a variety of cultivars with silly names because no one wants to buy a common plant. It's native to the most of the US and can be grown as a shrub or a tree.

Winterberry

Highbush Cranberry