A Winter Spruce Up!

Happy February from Desert Rose! In this month's blog, we will review a couple of methods of how to spruce up your yard during the winter months. Yards can seem barren and desolate during the winter months, but it doesn’t have to be that way! Here are some tips on how to bring a new, bright look to your yard during these dark few months.

The best way to make a difference is to plant pots! I know it sounds crazy, but planting "winter pots" can add much-needed color to your yard. And, even though it's almost impossible to make plants bloom during the winter months, we at Desert Rose have some tricks up our sleeves.

One way to add color to your pots is to plant a Red Twig Dogwood in the middle of the pot and surround it with small Oregon Grape ("repens") plants (ideal size is 4" containers which tend to be only 4-6" tall foliage). The Red Twig Dogwood's stems glow an intense red during the winter months and the Oregon Grape (an evergreen) adds some nice green and/or red foliage. Other options include simply planting a small Spruce or other types of evergreen in the pot instead of a Red Twig Dogwood.

Another fun and festive option are to decorate the plants in your pots with Christmas decorations (tinsel, lights, etc.) Other options include adding fresh or colored bark or decorating existing trees with Christmas decorations. If you want a real show stopper and some winter "flowers", Witch Hazel is also a magical solution. Witch Hazel is one of the very few plants that bloom during the winter months.

The best part about winter plants is in the Spring, you can always take the plants out of the pots and plant them in your yard! We hope this blog helps you consider some alternative options in beautifying your yard during the winter months.