Photo by Chambers Design of Highline in NYC
Winter interest isn’t just about looking good. It’s about being more ecologically enriching and more sustainable than conventional landscape design and lawn care. The use of native and adaptive plants has huge positive impacts on nature from being habitat and food sources of bees, birds, butterflies and other animals. But more than anything, designing a four-seasons landscape means establishing groundcover. Groundcover may sound kinda boring, but it is one the cornerstones for an ecological community.
(You can read Part 1 here and Part 2 here) No groundcover means bare dirt, and bare dirt degrades and washes away very easily. When I talk about groundcover, I’m talking about living groundcover in the form of plants. Plants that grow no more than 3 to 8 inches tall are one type of groundcover. It also means plants that grow taller than a few inches high but are dense enough (or can be planted in a way that create enough density) to, well, cover the ground completely. The beautiful, majestic grasses discussed in the previous posts are great examples of densely bunched flora that look awesome AND protect the soil underneath them. There are literally thousands of short and tall plants that can be used for groundcover.
However, the typical approach to groundcover isn’t living plants. Owners opt to use mulch in front beds of houses and along the edges of office buildings. People even put it in rain gardens. Mulch is a mythical creature for most people. It’s supposed to help keep roots moist, define a bed’s edge, suppress weeds and stop erosion. Unfortunately, mulch usually does the opposite of those things.
Mulch is often stained with toxic dyes and holds too much water within itself never letting rain seep into the dirt where the roots really are. Not only will it starve plants of moisture, it can make soil too rich for many native perennials to grow. And as everyone who’s had mulch installed, it ends up getting tossed around by leaf blowers and washing away after rainstorms exposing the soil and making a big mess.
When you design a four-seasons bed, you are actually replicating how nature works. Winter interest and winter gardens are a vital part to replicating nature. All the things that are promised with mulch are realistically achieved with groundcover. It stops erosion, keeps the soil moist for roots and suppresses weeds. It gives you healthier soil (not just “richer soil”) that allows for a wider variety of plants to grow. It adds style and aesthetic. Take a look at the images below.
However, the typical approach to groundcover isn’t living plants. Owners opt to use mulch in front beds of houses and along the edges of office buildings. People even put it in rain gardens. Mulch is a mythical creature for most people. It’s supposed to help keep roots moist, define a bed’s edge, suppress weeds and stop erosion. Unfortunately, mulch usually does the opposite of those things.
Mulch is often stained with toxic dyes and holds too much water within itself never letting rain seep into the dirt where the roots really are. Not only will it starve plants of moisture, it can make soil too rich for many native perennials to grow. And as everyone who’s had mulch installed, it ends up getting tossed around by leaf blowers and washing away after rainstorms exposing the soil and making a big mess.
When you design a four-seasons bed, you are actually replicating how nature works. Winter interest and winter gardens are a vital part to replicating nature. All the things that are promised with mulch are realistically achieved with groundcover. It stops erosion, keeps the soil moist for roots and suppresses weeds. It gives you healthier soil (not just “richer soil”) that allows for a wider variety of plants to grow. It adds style and aesthetic. Take a look at the images below.
 Photo by Chambers Design of Highline in NYC |  Photo by Chambers Design of Highline in NYC |
Photo by Chambers Design of Highline in NYC
Obviously the grasses are beautiful and flowing, but if you look, you’ll notice the entire ground is still covered though it’s early January.
Photo by Chambers Design of Highline in NYC
This is a different angle of the winter garden. You see the gorgeous seed heads of coneflowers and golden grasses…but what do you not see? Bare dirt.
Groundcover IS what mulch is trying to simulate with little success. In nature, rarely find bare dirt. At some point in our history, we begin to think isolated evergreen shrubs planted in a row or as an individual bush were attractive. But you can’t isolate plants and just leave the naked dirt between them. If you do, something will grow…and usually that means weeds. The only way to maintain the look is to add mulch and lots of it over and over year after year. Sustainable landscape design totally breaks that convention. You can couple lots of different species that create dynamic colors and textures throughout the year, and you never need mulch. No mulch means money in your pocket.
Semi-Evergreen
Many of the perennials and grasses used for seasonal color are semi-evergreen. They aren’t evergreen in the same way that, say, a boxwood or mountain laurel is evergreen, but they do stay green and don’t go completely dormant in winter.
Groundcover IS what mulch is trying to simulate with little success. In nature, rarely find bare dirt. At some point in our history, we begin to think isolated evergreen shrubs planted in a row or as an individual bush were attractive. But you can’t isolate plants and just leave the naked dirt between them. If you do, something will grow…and usually that means weeds. The only way to maintain the look is to add mulch and lots of it over and over year after year. Sustainable landscape design totally breaks that convention. You can couple lots of different species that create dynamic colors and textures throughout the year, and you never need mulch. No mulch means money in your pocket.
Semi-Evergreen
Many of the perennials and grasses used for seasonal color are semi-evergreen. They aren’t evergreen in the same way that, say, a boxwood or mountain laurel is evergreen, but they do stay green and don’t go completely dormant in winter.
Photo by Chambers Design of Highline in NYC
The image above shows a Stachys monieri 'Hummelo'. When it blooms, it has a fuzzy purple flowers and is about 18 inches high. It’s great for edging your garden or creating depth and level change. Yet, in the winter the leaves at the base stay green and prevent erosion.
Photo by Chambers Design of Lobelia siphilitica
The image above is a tray of Lobelia siphilitica. In the winter, they keep some leaves at the ground level and create a wonderful mat.
Photo by Chambers Design of Lobelia siphilitica
 Lobelia siphilitica |  Lobelia siphilitica |
It’s a great shade plant. It grows around 3 ft tall and blooms in blues and bluish purples. The three images above show L. siphilitica I installed for a client this past summer.
Photo by Chambers Design of Highline in NYC
The image above show how short grasses can be used for groundcover during colder months.
When sustainability is the central theme for landscape design, and entirely new approach and outcome await. There are two other factors that go into making your winter gardens, density and time. That’s for the next installment of the series.
When sustainability is the central theme for landscape design, and entirely new approach and outcome await. There are two other factors that go into making your winter gardens, density and time. That’s for the next installment of the series.
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