Spring explodes in a blatant display of fragrance and color. Our appreciation tends to focus on its blooms or the texture and color of its foliage. In the winter, however, the "show" comes to an end. So we cut it all back and dream of next year.

Try something different this fall. Leave a few of your plants standing. Set a stage where you don't look so much at what's in the garden…but the forces of winter interacting with it.

Thanks to our arid climate, many of our plants "desiccate" instead of rotting to the ground. The juicy, succulent plant matter slowly shrivels and dries up, leaving behind cellulose skeletons- potential works of winter art! Landscape designers will use this to their advantage, actually planning effects to extend winter pleasure in the garden.

Ornamental grasses are the obvious example. Leave them standing and you'll be rewarded with sublimity. The winter architecture of golden spiky columns, tawny wispy sprays and soft cinnamon cascades -- all enliven still winter scenes. Wan winter light is amplified in downy silver seed heads…birds hang in the thick cover, providing music and chatter. Try these proven dormant divas: 'Morning Light' and Purple Maiden Grass; Little Blue Stem; 'Heavy Metal' Switch Grass; Blue Avena; Stipa Grass; Feather Reed; and Fountain Grass.

The common black-eyed Susan is seen everywhere these past years. Many of the beds in Old Town and the newer commercial properties sport waves and sweeps of it. Come winter, the rhythmic pattern of dark chocolate seed heads paint a masculine foreground to moss rock and slab-stone. Try the Echinaceas for a similar effect.

Blue flax adds another grace note to winter. Each thin stem retains its seed capsules; the effect is that of a 'golden pearl bush.' Blue Mist Spirea is much the same but with a stronger geometry. Semi-woody branches flare out and up in a dramatic manner, each twig tip dipped in gold dust. The sun just sparkles in them. Crush some in your fingers and breathe the scent of summer.

Liatris, also known as 'Gayfeather,' morphs from lush grassy spires to very masculine upright swords. Up and down these stalks are the stiff remains of fluffy white seeds. Penstemons are similar, bearing dried out pods along the stalks. The yarrows and sedums have everlasting corymbs in shades of rust, tan and amber, which stand quite proudly when left to do so.

Many of the hardier roses bear fruit, or 'hips,' after flowering. These may be red, orange or gold. They may be delicate, hanging singly, or form thick, robust clusters. Seen from afar, these little jewels glow in the gloom of  gray, gray winters. Cut them back much later in the winter to enjoy these hips.

The garden lies dormant but our yen for life and beauty still beats on. We don't have iridescent petals or the pleasures incited by fragrance…but we can still feed our hunger for vitality.

What we do have is hoarfrost…it will settle on to each and every dormant being, echoing the minutest detail in crystalline-captured perfection. What we do have is changing light…harnessed and reflected in the myriad seeds left behind. The red light of a cold dawn can burnish twigs and pods. The sideways silver light of late-day winters will slide across skeletal surfaces, glazing grass blades, polishing twigs…

But only if you leave a few things standing.

Q: I had some kind of beetles on my elms this year that ate holes all over the leaves--especially on the Siberian elm.  Lots of the leaves turned brown and dropped off and the trees looked awful.  I sprayed several times throughout summer but it didn't have much effect.  I'm tired of spraying.  Can I do something now to help for next year?

A:  This was an especially heavy year for elm leaf beetles-probably due, in part, to dry conditions which stressed many trees.  Beetles overwinter as adults in sheltered locations -- woodpiles, around buildings and even moving into homes.  By now most are probably in place for the winter. They are often found in groups. You can search around protected locations in your yard and eliminate best as possible. Around the garage and house they can be vacuumed with a sweeper hose or shop vac and destroyed.  For more information, see fact sheet #5.521 - Elm Leaf Beetles.

Q:  I just moved into a house with several large trees so I'll have lots of leaves.  Is it OK to use the leaves from these trees as winter mulch for my perennials, shrubs and garden?  Some are ash trees and some cottonwoods.

A: The leaves from the ash would be fine for mulching.  They will help conserve moisture over the winter and ultimately break down and can be worked into the soil in the spring. Chop them up with a mower, if possible to help break down.  The cottonwood leaves, however, because they are thick and waxy are not as good for mulching as they tend to "cake together" with moisture.

Q:  My aspen trees had spots on the leaves this summer which got worse as summer progressed.  As fall arrived, most of the leaves were pretty awful looking with dry brown spots and large blackish-gray areas.  Many of them dropped early.  I sprayed a couple of times during summer but it didn't seem to make any difference.  Is there anything I can do now?

A: Aspens are susceptible to a fungal disease called marssonina leaf spot, which behaves as you have described. The fungus spores overwinter on dead leaves. Rake and dispose of as many of the dead leaves as possible this fall. Then in spring as the new leaves emerge, spray them according to the directions with a fungicide labeled for leaf spot on aspen/poplar.

The authors have received training through Colorado State University Cooperative Extension's Master Gardener program and is a Master Gardener volunteer for Larimer County.

Gardening and Insect Fact Sheets are available on-line by clicking HERE.

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This page updated:  October 20, 2003