You can take cuttings home not only for the summer flower garden. With a little planning, you can easily plant an attractive landscape that will also provide a source of cut vegetables and berries for your fall and winter tables.
When selecting plants, think about landscaping first and cutting material second. A mix of berries, conifers, deciduous shrubs and broadleaf evergreens will add interest to your garden all year round. I like to think of these plants as the bones of your garden. When choosing them, think about texture and color. Note the variety of green, yellow and mottled leaves, dense, airy branches and berry colors. This will add more interest to your landscape and give you more options when choosing which vegetables to cut.
When harvesting, always remember that you are pruning woody plants, which sometimes grow slowly. Consider the correct shape of the plant and collect the minimum amount necessary to avoid deformation of the plant. You will have to live with a bad plum for much longer than you will be able to enjoy chopped vegetables.
When it comes to berries, winter holly ( Ilex verticillata ) tops my list. These sedges are deciduous and leave hanging leaves of colorful fruits. Available in red as Berry Heavy, yellow as Winter Gold, and orange as Little Goblin. Be sure to pick them early in the season, before turkeys and other birds get into the berries. Other hollies, such as black holly ( Ilex glabra ) and blue holly ( Ilex × meserveae ), are evergreen and have attractive leaves and berries. In early fall, beautyberry ( Callicarpa Americana ) produces clusters of bright purple berries that also attract wildlife.
Conifers are essential for fall and winter events. Many pines hold up well when cut, but if you're looking for something a little more unusual, try the Himalayan striped pine ( Pinus wallichiana 'Zebrina' ). The false cypress genus ( Chamaecyparis ) includes conifers of various colors, densities, and leaf sizes. The Korean fir ( Abies Koreana ) has short, thick needles, dark green above and silver below. If you want dusty blue leaves, use blue spruce ( Picea pungens ). My favorite tree, although a little more unusual, is the Japanese pine ( Sciadopitys verticillata ). This plant is a living fossil with no close relatives, but with many variations. It has fleshy needles that hold very well to cut vegetables.
Many deciduous shrubs such as red and yellow dogwood ( Cornus sericea ) have attractive stems that stand out in winter landscapes and add color to compositions. Red willow ( Salix × fragilis f. vitellina 'Britzensis' ) has bright red to orange new growth. To maintain the red color, the bush must be pruned every year. Corkscrew willow ( Salix babylonica f. babylonica 'Tortuosa' ) and corkscrew hazel ( Corylus avellana 'Contorta' ) have beautiful curly branches.
In addition to holly, there are other broadleaf evergreens to consider. Mountain Fettercush ( Pieris floribunda ) has small, oval, shiny leaves. Flower buds form in the fall, so they can also be attractive in landscaping, but be sure to let some flowers bloom in the spring. Its lily-of-the-valley flowers attract bees and beetles. Many small-leaved rhododendrons, such as PJM, turn brownish-red in winter and can also be attractive additions to arrangements.
Lastly, don't underestimate the beauty of pods and shoots. One of my favorite flowers is the hemlock ( Tsuga canadensis ). They are small, about the size of a dime, so they are perfect for setting up tables. The common alder (Alnus glutinosa), of the birch family, also has beautiful male cones and catkins. The sheaths of irises and the feathers of ornamental grasses also have different structures.
With so many options available for pruning fall and winter gardens, the problem you will face will not be finding plant material, but finding a place for these plants in your home garden.
We hope you enjoy Garden Central Month! Send us your gardening questions to plant@nebg.org and then check back for next month's column for answers. Horticulture is written by Grace Elton, Executive Director, and Mark Richardson, Director of Horticulture, New England Botanical Garden, Tower Hill, Central Massachusetts. Located on 171 acres in Boylston. The New England Botanical Garden creates plant-based experiences that inspire people and improve the world. Learn more at www.nebg.org . The column is published on the third Sunday of the month.
This article originally appeared in The Telegram and Gazette. Garden center mass: conifers for garden pruning (and more).
