Winter is a nice season to start noticing the impact that ornamental bark and branching patterns of our woody plants can provide. Understandably, most plants are sold based on features like flowers, fragrance, fall color, etc. and the merits of bark are secondary or perhaps emphasized for those that provide the most dramatic winter color [red-stemmed dogwoods (
Cornus), ornamental willows (
Salix), white-barked birches (
Betula), etc.]. As I go thru my photos each year I've seen more "unsolicited" shots of ornamental bark as I think I've come to appreciate it more with each passing season. Branching patterns for various trees (upright, horizonatal, etc.) can also be of interest as well. Each year I extoll the virtues of "bark appreciation" but understand that it can frequently be a "hard sell" to those that want more substantial interest (i.e. flowers). I've always preached that our gardens should be 12 months of interest and while it may be tough to be inspired by the garden when it's cold and miserable outside, that interest should be there and colorful bark and stems are part of that equation. Of course, it's also hard to look away from our armchair indulgence of colorful catalogs luring us in for the upcoming spring season. There's nothing wrong with that but if you don't glance at or appreciate your landscape from December thru March, something is missing! Above is the bark of the paper bark maple (
Acer griseum) in the Japanese garden of Chicago Botanic Garden. In order below, we have giant sequoia (
Sequoiadendron giganteum), Caucasian elm (
Zelkova carpinifolia), yew (
Taxus sp.) and persimmon (
Diospyros virginiana).
Winter is a nice season to start noticing the impact that ornamental bark and branching patterns of our woody plants can provide. Understandably, most plants are sold based on features like flowers, fragrance, fall color, etc. and the merits of bark are secondary or perhaps emphasized for those that provide the most dramatic winter color [red-stemmed dogwoods (Cornus), ornamental willows (Salix), white-barked birches (Betula), etc.]. As I go thru my photos each year I've seen more "unsolicited" shots of ornamental bark as I think I've come to appreciate it more with each passing season. Branching patterns for various trees (upright, horizonatal, etc.) can also be of interest as well. Each year I extoll the virtues of "bark appreciation" but understand that it can frequently be a "hard sell" to those that want more substantial interest (i.e. flowers). I've always preached that our gardens should be 12 months of interest and while it may be tough to be inspired by the garden when it's cold and miserable outside, that interest should be there and colorful bark and stems are part of that equation. Of course, it's also hard to look away from our armchair indulgence of colorful catalogs luring us in for the upcoming spring season. There's nothing wrong with that but if you don't glance at or appreciate your landscape from December thru March, something is missing! Above is the bark of the paper bark maple (Acer griseum) in the Japanese garden of Chicago Botanic Garden. In order below, we have giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum), Caucasian elm (Zelkova carpinifolia), yew (Taxus sp.) and persimmon (Diospyros virginiana).
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