Story and Photo by Christie Green
Sunflowers, prized botanic icon of summer’s bounty, maintain their interest year round, just ask the Juncos and Finches. Ask any bird hungry for nutrients in the dead of winter, as well as we humans hungry for signs of life in the dormant garden. Birds and humans alike benefit from the sunflower’s sustenance and stark, woody structural form.
Winter offers a wondrous opportunity to appreciate the layers of beauty obscured by the summer glitz of color and lush foliage. A tree’s bark, shrub’s multi-trunk form and persistent fruit, vine’s spray of seed head luminescence, perennial’s remnant dry bloom and grass’s erect wispy blades invite a closer look – an alternative perspective and deepened appreciation for what each season offers.
Some of our native botanic beauties with particularly attractive dormant forms and/or nutritious offerings include:
| Trees | ||
| Populous tremuloides Pinus edulis Juniperus monosperma Quercus gambelii Pinus ponderosa |
Aspen Pinon Pine One Seed Juniper Gambel Oak Ponderosa Pine |
showy structure; bark evergreen; nut evergreen; fruit (females only) showy bark; nut evergreen; bark; cones |
| Small Trees/Shrubs | ||
| Cornus stolonifera Ptelea trifolata Forestiera neomexicana Salix exigua Ceratoides lanata Amelanchiar alnifolia Ribes aureum, sereum Prunus virginiana Rhus trilobata Rosa woodsii Shepherdia argentea Agave parryi |
Red Twig Dogwood Wafer Ash NM Privet Coyote Willow Winterfat Serviceberry Golden & Wax Currant Chokecherry Three Leaf Sumac Woods Rose Buffalo Berry Parry Agave |
showy bark showy bark, seed showy bark; sculptural form showy bark seed; form fruit fruit bark; fruit fruit form; fruit form, fruit sculptural form |
| Grasses | ||
| Panicum virgatum Eragrostis trichodes Andropogon scoparius Stipa neomexicana |
Heavy Metal Switch Grass Sand Love Grass Little Bluestem NM Feathergrass |
showy seed; foliage showy seed; foliage showy seed; foliage foliage |
| Perennials | ||
| Achillea lanulosa Antennaria rosea Eriogonum umbellatum Penstemon strictius Penstemon pinnifolius |
Yarrow Pussy Toes Sulfur Buckwheat Rocky Mtn. Penstemon Pineleaf Penstemon |
showy seed foliage; form showy seed showy seed showy seed, foliage |
| Vines | ||
| Clematis pseudoalpina Parthenocissus inserta Vitis arizonica |
Rocky Mountain Clematis Woodbine Canyon Grape |
showy seed sculptural form; fruit sculptural form; bark; fruit |
Consider layered groupings of grasses, perennials, shrubs and trees for multidimensional – visual and nutritional – sustenance. Puckered crimson rose hips set off fluffy white shrub seed heads and coniferous needles while offering dense cover for song birds.
Allow dormant plantings center stage amongst winter’s hushed blanket of white – the birds will rejoice as will your rejuvenated appreciation for the garden’s “off season” glory.
Christie Green is the proprietress of radicle.
Edible celebrates New Mexico's food culture, season by season. We believe that knowing where our food comes from is a powerful thing. With our high-quality, aesthetically pleasing and informative publication, we inspire readers to support and celebrate the growers, producers, chefs, beverage and food artisans, and other food professionals in our community.
