Wow! Great ideas! I've been trying to look for color in our gardens in the winter in the snow. I have the Walking Stick which looks sooooo cool without its leaves! Thanks for sharing! Kirk

Thanks Delta9Dave

I'm going to research each one of those suggested plants!!!

The Live Chat was somewhat like swimming. I drowned! LOL

Susie

Chatting was FUN! I really enjoyed it :D
We had pyracantha, I got one of those thorns in my index finger one year when I was young, chasing the stupid rooster :D The chickens roosted in it too much, and the plant died. But it was beautiful with all the red berries. Now I just enjoy the wild yaupon everywhere, the birds flock to the red berries and can clean all the berries off in a few minutes. We have several varieties of Holly, but the berries never look cute like in the photos of them, they're always black spotted, like mildew!
We have lots and lots of Camellias, the weather has them all off kilter, and for the last few years,they don't know when to bloom anymore. I was never into the Camellias, so I really don't know which from which, but one of them was developed by someone who wrote a book, and he gave one to my mother. She was the only one who had one like it. I can't remember if it's this pink one that looks like a small porcelain rose, or this purple one, that smells like really sweet perfume. Like I said, I don't know which is which,lol, but they'd used to bloom right at Thanksgiving, and we'd decorate the table with them, and decorate the Advent Wreath with them,too. We used to have tons of books from the Camellia Society, my mother belonged to it, and there is a Camellia Show every winter she used to enter.

Thanks Dave for the winter post. Winter has it's beautiful moments too, and I've tried to plant quite a few species with winter interest.

I have 2 pink blooming camillias, they're so amazing when they start blooming usually during our coldest months, January or Feb usually. And the leaves are evergreen. Love that. Will get a pic when they bloom this winter.

I have 1 holly tree the cone shaped type that will grow to approx 25 feet. It's probably 15 to 20 feet at about age 10 years old now. Seems like the berries turn red only every other year. This year they're loaded, and also our 2 dogwoods are full of red berries this year. I need to research that phenomenon. Raining today, but I'll try to get a pic of their berries this week sometime and post them. I love making Christmas arrangments with all these evergreen plants!

River Birch is a pretty tree in winter with it's beautiful peeling bark. I have one of those about 9 years old now. Will post a pic soon.

I love all evergreens in the winter. Nice to have plants that don't loose their leaves in the winter along with the deciduous ones.

Pyracantha is something I planted many years ago in an area that people would be walking past. Bad mistake! It's very thorny and although beautiful, it needs to be in a background, never around where kids and people may be in contact with it. Just keep that in mind when you decide where to plant it. Kind of like cactus, keep it away from walking paths!

A surprise plant we found at a nursery about 4 years ago is the Lenten Rose. It had won the Plant of the Year award and that's why I tried it, supposed to be real hardy. You wouldn't believe it when it makes these wonderful blooms in our coldest months! I'll definitely get a pic of it and post when blooming. Comes up sorta like a peony, same size range & appearance, different flower, but it does this in the cold weather! I try to grow only hardy plants now, spent too much on delicate ones and lost many.

Here's a link to a pic of Lenten Rose at a grower's site. I'll shuddit for now I really get going about cool plants!

And I really enjoyed chat last night! Hope to do it again soon. Feel like I know everyone a little bit better :-)

Thanks Cindee and Kirk! ~tenderlee

Here is a link that might be useful: Lenten Rose Photo

Thanks Dave for the winter info!