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Web Extra: A garden that looks just as good in winter

Photo/Illustration: Michelle Gervais
Photo/Illustration: Michelle Gervais
Photo/Illustration: Michelle Gervais
Photo/Illustration: Michelle Gervais
Photo/Illustration: Michelle Gervais
Photo/Illustration: Michelle Gervais
Photo/Illustration: Michelle Gervais
Photo/Illustration: Michelle Gervais
Photo/Illustration: Michelle Gervais
Photo/Illustration: Michelle Gervais
Photo/Illustration: Michelle Gervais
Photo/Illustration: Michelle Gervais
Photo/Illustration: Michelle Gervais
Photo/Illustration: Michelle Gervais
Photo/Illustration: Michelle Gervais
Photo/Illustration: Michelle Gervais
Photo/Illustration: Michelle Gervais
Photo/Illustration: Michelle Gervais
Photo/Illustration: Michelle Gervais
Photo/Illustration: Michelle Gervais
Photo/Illustration: Michelle Gervais
Photo/Illustration: Michelle Gervais
Photo/Illustration: Michelle Gervais
Photo/Illustration: Michelle Gervais

In the February 2013 issue of Fine Gardening, we featured a stunning garden designed by Alan Collachicco and William Towne in Byfield, Massachusetts. It’s a stately, timeless garden that pleases all year long. Alan and Bill used lots of stone and evergreen structure, small planting beds, and a subtle color palette to smooth the seasonal transitions and make the garden just as interesting in winter as it is in the peak of summer. To prove this point, senior editor Michelle Gervais took photos of several scenes in the garden in both seasons. Enjoy this gallery of the results

Subtle and classic ornaments, like this terra-cotta bird, are just as charming in winter as they are in summer. Flashier ornamentation would look jarring in the barer colder months.
In summer, the trees that surround this garden provide a green curtain of privacy. In the colder months, the bare branches let in more light-crucial during long New England winters.

 

As the leaves fall in autumn, the 17th-century house is revealed, allowing it to become the star of the garden.

 

 

 

This weeping tree is just as compelling in winter as it is in summer due to its fountainlike form.
Yet again, as the leaves fall, the house is revealed and becomes the star of the garden. The bright mulleins add extra pizzazz during the winter months.
This birch near the back door is a focal point in all seasons, but it is especially beautiful when bare in winter.

 

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Comments

  1. NevadaSue 12/13/2012

    Thanks for the summer /winter pictures. I love all the green. Several postings of people using evergreens and shrubs to do the majority of the landscaping inspires me to incorporate more shrubs into my garden. I like the feel of it. Green! :) The birds on the vine are very nice and do really add that special touch for winter. Love the rock work too.

  2. user-610342 02/19/2013

    I too love the rock work. But tell me please, what is the vine growing on the rocks? I would love to plant it.

    1. alaninerhenylalanine 06/26/2014

      I think it's a climbing hydrangea.

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