Northeast Gardening: New garden projects and retirement :0), 1 by bbrookrd

bbrookrd wrote:
Congrats on the retirement and commiseration to a fellow FM sufferer. I think planting shrubs with winter visual interest is great. I love some of the viburnums for fall color and then for winter berries., but one of my favorite shrubs are the oak leaf hydrangea. It has a wonderful shape and buff colored bark in the winter and is incredibly beautiful in the summer with great fall color. The one in the picture is 10- 12' high but I have some that I keep smaller. I have some big stands of ink berry which are evergreen here in 6-7zone. The high bush blue berries are also an architectural delight in the winter, plus they have great fall color and masses of berries in the summer if you beat the birds. My Buddleia Alternifolia that I have grown as a weeping tree is great to see in the winter and has a nice lavender bloom in both spring and fall plus the soft grey foliage is lovely in the summer. I have big masses of Rosa rugosa that we don't cut back until late March so the birds can feast on the hips all winter. Some Ilex are great for winter green plus boxwood. Also my big lavender plants look lovely year round. Enjoy your new garden and the extra time you now have to do it and hopefully without too much FM pain. Patti