mygreen impressions - kn

While spring is a time of renewal in the Cleveland landscape, fall is the opposite.  Fall feels like a conclusion to the year. The brilliant landscape plant and tree colors, like the grand finale of a fireworks show or an encore in a theater production, signal a time of change in the Northern Ohio landscape; a time of closure.  The fact is though, that your landscape plants can be enjoyed throughout the winter as well.  There are various interesting and beautiful landscaping plants and trees that can be planted for winter interest due to their bark color, or branching structure. Attributes you perhaps would not pay as much attention to while the plant still has its leaves. Some People like to leave up ornamental grasses and certain perennials for winter landscaping interest. Well how about berries? There are many trees and shrubs that can be enjoyed well into the winter due to their colorful berries and other natural attributes.  Below are five of my favorite winter landscaping plants with "Berry Interesting" eye appeal. 

Winterberry (Ilex verticillata) – Winterberry is a deciduous holly bush.  This means that it loses its leaves in the fall unlike other hollies which are evergreen.  Because it loses its leaves, you are able to really enjoy the vibrant red berries.  Winterberry is dioecious as are other hollies.  You need to have at least one male plant in the area to pollinate the females.  If you don’t, you will not have any berries.  They grow 6-10ft depending on the variety, and can grow in sun or partial shade.  They are also known to be deer resistant.  The berries last through winter as long as the birds don’t get to them.  Some might find that an advantage though!

It's winter here in Cleveland, Ohio and unless you have been hibernating down south it's cold out. When you look outside and see snow on the ground and not much red visible on the thermometer I'm sure your first thought probably isn't trudging out to work on the plants in your landscape. It's difficult to get motivated and work outside when the lawn doesn't need mowed and the flowers aren't requiring attention - but the fact is right now is a great time (the only time) to dormant prune your deciduous trees and shrubs. 

Due to the advantages of being able to visualize the plants' structure without it's foliage much less effort and guess work is required on your part to prune now in winter than it would at other warmer times of the year. The one exception may be the task putting on all the additional layers of clothing prior to beginning your winter landscaping.

What is Dormant Pruning? 

Back in September I wrote a blog article titled Revive your Landscape Pots with Fall Color Flowers.  Now that we are in December I want to continue on with the idea that you can keep your pots going even longer in the year.  By now, with the exception of any cabbage or kale, your fall pots look shot.  It’s likely that you’ve emptied them and maybe you’ve even put them away for the season.  The fact is, the same pots you use for spring/summer, and fall annuals can also be used for the holidays and at a fraction of the price.  In fact, most of it can be found in your yard.  Well in my case, my neighbor’s yard, but hey, I doubt they noticed.  When planting a pot with annuals, you can accomplish a lot of “interest” with different flower colors and types.  You also have a myriad of choices for height and hanging plants.  When it comes to a winter pot, you are limited in the materials you can use.  Because of that you will want to focus on the texture of the plant as well as the color.

Without a little late-fall attention, your outdoor living spaces begin to look a little shabby. Even worse, you could inadvertently damage your carefully planned landscaping if you neglect it at this time of year. Winterizing your outdoor living spaces keeps them looking good through the cold winter months, maintains them, and prepares them for spring.

1. Disturbance.  If you have ever had any kind of remodeling project done to your home, you know what a disturbance it can be to your life.  Backyard patios are no exception.  Your yard becomes a muddy mess filled with tools, equipment, and pallets full of pavers.  If you have your patio installed in the winter, you will still have disturbance, it just won’t be as much of a nuisance since you’re not out utilizing your yard.
    
2. Enjoy it When You Want it.  Often we get phone calls in April and May from people wanting to get a new patio design installed. This in itself isn’t a problem if you don’t mind waiting, but by this point most companies have a backlog of work already and you could end up waiting weeks if not months before it could be installed.  The spring in Cleveland is also the busiest time for any landscape design and construction company. In the winter we have much more time to spend on your design as well as customer service. If you want to start enjoying your backyard patio when the weather starts warming up, consider having it installed now or in the winter.
    
3. Financing.  Why wait?  Make your outdoor living dreams a reality.  Green Impressions offers financing of 0% APR for up to 12 months on all qualifying outdoor projects.  Complete your outdoor projects as you picture them.  By making monthly payments over time, you’ll see the results you want now without the financial burden.

By Kaitlin Donovan

Often, the onset of fall means people give up on their outdoor landscape flower pots and planters. When in fact the fall is a great time to revive your now tired patio and deck pots.  A lot of times people don’t want to spend the money on landscape plants or flowers that they will only enjoy for the last month or two of the season.  The truth is that fall color pots don’t have to be expensive.  Here are a few guidelines to help extend the enjoyment of your pots.

A few weeks ago Beth McCleod, a member of the WOIO Channel 19 weather team and client of Green Impressions, approached our owner Joe Schill about doing a segment on air about a new product being sold on the market named Canada Green.

Learning how to successfully kill your plants is a valuable life lesson. When you kill a plant it changes you. The thought remains in your head. You feel bad, limp and lifeless it stares at you, blaming you for its demise. But once you learn what you did to cause the death of your plant, you remember it. The pain associated with the loss of your plants life and the money you paid for it is great motivation toward improvement. Learning from our successful plant killings should make future decisions toward living successes all the greater.

Your plants have a biological clock, regulated by temperature and sunshine. With the dreariness of winter finally behind us, the sun has begun to grace us with its presence warming the air and soil temperatures. Now is the time to start preparing your lawn and landscape for these seasonal changes.