More about Winter interest

Yesterday we talked about using ornamental grasses to create interest in your garden over the long months of Winter.  Today we'll talk a little bit about how to use structures.

The key to using structures for Winter interest is to look at them in the Winter.  Seriously.  A structure can look completely different surrounded by the bare bones of Winter than when surrounded by the lush greenery and blooms of other seasons.

This trellis, for example, doesn't look like much in the Summer.  Oh, the clematis that climbs it is gorgeous, but in a good year, I don't even see this trellis once that clematis is in its full glory.  But, in the Winter, it creates a gateway to a beautiful view of mature tree trunks and the snow beyond.

If you want to place a structure for optimum Winter interest, now is the time to place it.  Summer views are a lot more forgiving.  If you move that trellis a little bit north or a little bit south to capture the best Winter landscape, chances are it's going to work just fine in the other seasons as well. 

Now, I know I don't want to be out there trying to push a trellis into frozen ground, so you might just need to measure and mark the location until Spring thaw.  You can do this by taking graph paper and drawing your garden spot to scale, measuring, and marking it exactly where you want the trellis to go.  That's my husband's way.  I'm more inclined to hold that trellis up, move it back and forth until it's where I want it to be, take a couple of sturdy rocks or bricks and lay them on the ground where I need to place the legs of the trellis come Spring.  I'm done and back in the nice warm house while he's still getting his measuring tape out.  :)