Evergreens
         Evergreen trees are an obvious choice for maintaining color in the cold-season garden. In the conifer family, the Colorado blue spruce (Picea pungens ‘Glauca’) is a wonderful choice both for its almost perfect Christmas-tree form and its silvery blue color. The golden, yellow-tipped foliage of Chamaecyparis lawsoniana, another pyramidal conifer, brings a sense of sunshine into even the drabbest winter day. There are a host of other evergreen options, including your basic boxwood and yew. Check with local nurseries for other recommendations. 

Ornamental Grasses
         Ornamental grasses can be wonderful in winter. There is a wide selection of hardy perennial varieties to choose from ranging in size from low-growing plants good for edging to tall, stately clumps reaching 10-15 feet tall. While many homeowners are growing the stately Miscanthis sinensis (maiden grass), Valerie Blankenship of Snow Creek Nursery in Penhook said they are invasive, overused grasses. Instead, she recommends some of the new sedges (Carex), fountain grass (Pennisetum) hybrids, and rush (Juncus) hybrids. They all are graceful grasses that lend themselves to many landscape uses, including containers, and come in a delightful range of foliage colors and textures. Paulette Chitwood of Lakescapes Nursery in Union Hall loves feather grass (Stipa tenuissima). 

Silhouettes
         In the realm of deciduous plants, choose ones with that have fascinating silhouettes once the leaves have dropped. Good possibilities include Japanese maple (Acer palmatum) with its marvelous twisting branches and Harry Lauder’s walking stick (Corylus avellana ‘Contorta’), named for the bent, gnarled walking stick that was a trademark of the Scottish comedian. Also consider a quince tree (Cydonia oblonga) and the contorted willow (Salix  matsudana ‘Tortuosa’).

Berries
         Berry-bearing shrubs and trees are a delight in a winter landscape. Hollies, nandina, cotoneaster, and pyracantha all hold their berries into winter. Blankenship warns that pyracantha can have insect problems here if it is allowed to get too dense. To avoid the problem, spread it along a fence or wall for an intriguing, attractive pattern. 
         Tim Tingler, owner of Lakescapes Nursery, particularly recommends the native Gaultheria procumbens (winterberry). A ground cover, it grows in shady woodland areas. Other berry-bearing natives include beautyberry (Callicarpa americana), which produces clusters of vivid, purple, bead-like berries, and winterberry holly (Ilex verticillata). Within the Viburnum genus are many native as well as imported options that produce attractive winter berry displays.
        
Interesting Bark
         Many deciduous trees and shrubs have multicolored bark that stands out dramatically in a winter landscape once the distraction and screen of leaves is gone. Excellent choices for beautiful bark are the red-barked dogwood (Cornus alba), a small, multi-stemmed shrub, and its cousins, the red osier dogwood (Cornus stolonifera ‘Flaviramea’) and the bloodtwig dogwood (Cornus sanguinea). Because these dogwood species are not particularly attractive in the summer, Blankenship recommends planting them at the back of a perennial border so they’re hidden when the perennials are starring, and can then take the lead role in winter when the perennials go underground. 
         Another intriguing phenomenon is trees with peeling or colored bark. While white-barked birch trees succumb to heat and birch borers in our area, the Heritage river birch (Betula nigra) thrives here. Another excellent choice is crape myrtle (Lagerstroemia indica). The mature trunks have beautiful mottled colors and patterns. To allow the bark to develop properly, don’t cut back the branches. Known in the business as ‘crape murder,’ the practice forces the shrubs to put their energy into regrowing, rather than into producing beautiful bark and trunk form. To avoid the need to prune crape myrtles to maintain the desired size, select a variety that naturally reaches maturity at the height and width you want. There are hundreds of choices in all sizes and colors, so you should be able to find what you need. 

Winter Flowers
         There are a few plants that flower in winter or very early spring. Hellebores are wonderful for their winter charm. For blooms beginning in early winter and continuing to early spring, opt for the Christmas rose (Helleborus niger); the Lenten rose (H. orientalis) flowers later in the season but continues well into spring. Blankenship is particularly excited about the new “Lady Series” which come in very pretty flower colors. Both hellebore species deserve a place in your winter garden. For blooms the first year, purchase larger, more mature plants. 
         Witch hazel, which you can grow as a large, vase-shaped shrub or a small tree, produces its spidery flowers very early in spring. Pieris japonica, also known as lily-of-the-valley bush, produces pretty floral pendants in late winter. However, Blankenship warns they are slow to establish, and can be finicky at the Lake unless put in an ideal spot.
                Winter can be a hard task master, but with a good basic design, which includes trees, shrubs, and grasses that look beautiful in all seasons, your garden can please the eye and give the promise of fresh wonders in the coming spring.
Plants for Winter Interest
         The following plants are recommended for winter interest in the Smith Mountain Lake area gardens by John Webb and Paulette Chitwood of Lakescapes Nursery in Union Hall and Valerie Blankenship at Snow Creek Nursery in Penhook.

Evergreen
Cedrus atlantica (Atlas cedar): Sun or part shade, can tolerate clay soil, needs shelter from wind; 40’-60’ tall by 30’-40’; look for cultivars such as ‘Argentea’ (pale silvery bluish gray), ‘Aurea’ (yellowish needles), ‘Fastigiata’ (upright form), ‘Glauca’ (blue), and ‘Glauca Pendula’ (blue weeping form).

Cedrus deodora  (deodar cedar): Sunny, dry location; evergreen conifer; 40’-70’ tall by 30’-40’ wide, superb specimen tree with graceful, pendulous habit, useful as screen, good substitute for white pine.

Cryptomeria spp.: Comes in many shapes, sizes, and colors.  Visit a local nursery to check out their selection.

Ornamental Grasses
Carex flagellifera ‘Toffee Twist’ (sedge): Partial sun, 10”-16” tall by 18”-24” wide; elegant sweeping, trailing habit; noninvasive, low maintenance, year round interest; slender, mahogany colored foliage accented with green and red hues; use in containers and beds.

Juncus decipiens ‘Curly Whirly’ (corkscrew rush): Sun or part sun; 12”-14” tall by 18” wide; new dwarf cultivar with clump-forming, shiny dark green, corkscrewing and spiraling foliage;  grow in container or in standing water. 

Silhouettes
Acer palmatum (Japanese maple): Sun to part shade; deciduous tree; size and shape vary with cultivars, check with local nurseries or on the internet for selections.

Corylus avellana ‘Contorta’ (Harry Lauder’s Walking Stick): Full sun to part shade, medium moisture; deciduous shrub; 8’-10’ tall and wide; twisted and spiraling branches, twigs and leaves.

Berries
Callicarpa americana (American beautyberry): Sun to part shade (best berries in full sun), tolerant of poor soil; deciduous native shrub; 6’-8’ tall, loose open form;  metallic violet berries clustered around stem;  use for massing or individually in shrub border or on edge of woodland.

Ilex verticillata (Winterberry): Sun to part shade (best fruiting in full sun) in light or heavy soil, adaptable to soggy soil; deciduous native shrub; 6’ - 15’ tall by 6’-10’ wide, depending on cultivar; vividly colored berries in dense clusters on female plants, beautiful against dark gray bark, females need male pollinator (1 male for every 5 females);  cultivars ‘Winter Gold’ (berries change from a pinkish-orange in fall to a golden-yellow for winter) and ‘Winter Red’ hold longer and come sooner, grow ‘Southern Gentleman’ as pollinator.

Viburnum spp.: Sun to part shade; deciduous shrub.  Many viburnums do well in our area, although in most species the berries turn black by the end of summer or are eaten by the birds.  V. dilatatum ‘Erie’ is round shrub 6’ tall by 10’ with prolific red fruit that turns coral after frost, growing pinker through the winter. 

Interesting Bark
Cornus sericea ‘Flaviramea’ (yellow twig dogwood): Sun to light shade; multi-stemmed deciduous shrub; fast growing to 5’-6’ tall by 5’ wide; canary yellow stems in winter; sometimes sold as C. sericea ‘Lutea’; can become invasive; spreads by stolons; best color on young, vigorous stems so severely prune in early spring.

Betula nigra ‘Heritage’ (Heritage river birch): Sun, tolerates moist or dry soil, heat; deciduous tree; 40’ tall and wide; long, glossy and dark-green leaves, 3-4-inches long, are less prone to leaf spot than other river birches; gray-brown to almost black bark is very scaly to platy on the trunks of the species form, but selected varieties have papery exfoliating patches of peach, gray, purple, and orange bark that is highly ornamental; use as a specimen shade tree or in a clustered group.

Cornus sanguinea ‘Midwinter Fire’ also known as ‘Winter  Beauty’ and ‘Winter Flame’ (bloodtwig dogwood): Sun or part shade; deciduous, multi-stemmed shrub; 5’ - 6’ tall and wide;  in winter stems are bright orange-yellow at the base and red at the tips; prune back stems to within few inches of ground each spring for finest color.

Winter Flowers
Hamamelis x intermedia (witch hazel): Full sun to part shade; deciduous shrub or small tree; size varies with cultivar; fragrant blooms in February and March.  Cultivars recommended by Lakescapes Nursery include ‘Arnolds Promise’ (yellow), ‘Jelena’ (copper), and ‘Diane’ (red).

Eranthus hyemalis (winter aconite): Full sun to part shade; plant tubers 2-3” deep and 3” apart in late summer to early fall. Soak tubers overnight before planting.  May self-seed and naturalize over time in optimum growing conditions. Best left undisturbed once planted; yellow, buttercup-like blooms 4” tall as early as January; will flower in snow.

Galanthus nivalis (snowdrops): Full sun to part shade, plant bulbs 2-3” deep and space 2-3” apart in fall; white, waxy, bell-shaped flower in February; best massed in sweeping drifts in areas where they can naturalize, such as woodland margins or in lawns under large deciduous trees.

A more extensive list of plant recommendations in each of these categories is available online at smithmountainlaker.com. Catriona Tudor Erler is a freelance garden writer and photographer who divides her time between Charlottesville and SML. She is the author of eight gardening books, including “Complete Home Landscaping.”