Year-Round Garden Plants

• Evergreens like holly provide flowers, fruit and foliage year-round. Rocketroom/Brand X Pictures/Getty Images

  Many people think of gardens as providing color and interest during the spring and summer months. Oftentimes, as temperatures plummet in the fall and the days grow increasingly shorter, summer plants die back, leaving a garden seemingly devoid of life. By selecting plants with something to offer year-round, however, you can plan a garden that remains green, even as the snow piles high around it.

Trees

• Evergreens serve as an iconic symbol of the winter season because they remain green year-round. Most evergreens have needle- or scale-like leaves and produce their seeds on cones, which can provide visual interest in the winter. Evergreens planted to the north and west of your house can also screen your home from winter winds and help you to reduce energy costs, suggests the Colorado State University Extension. For even greater winter interest, consider planting a holly tree. Many holly trees include not only evergreen foliage but also brightly colored berries that persist throughout the winter. Note that some species require both a male and female tree in order to produce berries.

Shrubs

• The mugo pine functions perfectly as a shrub while retaining its green foliage throughout the year. Mugo pines develop either as round shrubs or small trees with the typical pyramidal evergreen shape. Trees rarely exceed 10 feet in height, and some cultivars remain much smaller. Its dense foliage makes the mugo pine an excellent evergreen for screen plantings, says the University of Florida IFAS Extension. Adding to their appeal, mugo pines require little special care. Rhododendrons also green up your garden during the winter months, in addition to the bright, showy foliage that they produce during the spring and summer. When choosing a plant for year-round use, choose an evergreen rhododendron that can survive your local climate, as some species produce deciduous foliage.

Ground Cover

• Ground covers unify a landscape in the spring and summer but, as your summer annuals and perennials begin dying back in the fall, evergreen ground covers also prevent your garden from becoming a bleak expanse of barren earth. For a touch of winter color, the foliage of the yellow ice plant becomes reddish in the winter. Junipers make good ground covers with needle- and scale-like foliage that persists through the year. Some species also produce bluish-colored berries. Thyme remains green throughout the year, with some varieties, such as woolly thyme, developing colored foliage in the winter. Thyme foliage adds a delicate aroma to the air throughout the year.