13 Beautiful Outdoor Plants That Stay Lush And Green All Winter

Winter can feel like a time of mourning for gardeners living in cold climates. It’s not the most fertile time of year, and it’s challenging to get anything to grow, especially something with color. While most plants either die or shed their leaves and go dormant in the coldest months of the year, some resilient plants provide your garden with color all winter long.

Some cold-hardy plants that provide lush green color throughout the winter include various boxwoods, junipers, arborvitae, Japanese yew, eastern white pine, and blue spruce. If you want a plant that offers green leaves and some color in the winter, opt for a holly bush, witch hazel, cotoneaster, or ornamental cabbage. Other plants that stay green in cold weather include wintercreeper and various types of cypress.

Cold winters aren’t friendly to outdoor plants, but even in the harshest conditions, some plants can thrive. If you want to ensure your outdoor landscaping looks alive and colorful, even on the darkest and coldest days, then read through our list of outdoor plants that provide lush green color throughout the winter.

13 Outdoor Plants That Provide Your Yard With Color All Winter

1. Holly

Holly may be the most iconic colorful winter plant on the planet. Its signature pointed leaves and red berries are a fixture of winter holidays, centerpieces, and even Christmas songs. A holy bush provides shiny green leaves and pops of red all winter long, breathing life into your winter garden.

There are many types of holly you can choose from. Therefore, ensure you choose a type that will thrive in your climate. Also, opt for a variety that will give you the desired color and height, as holly can vary significantly in size and shape.

2. Boxwood

Boxwood is great outdoor plant for many reasons. For one, there are tons of different boxwood species, so it’s easy to find one that suits your needs and growing zone.

Furthermore, boxwoods are one of the most lush and dense evergreens you can find. You can use these plants as colorful hedges, place them by your front door, or sculpt them into various shapes. This can help give your outdoor space color and style during the coldest months of the year.

3. Japanese Yew

Yew, and in particular Japanese Yew, is one of the most commonly recommended evergreens for those looking to bring color into an otherwise barren winter garden. For one, this type of yew can grow as small or as large as you need it to. If you put it in a small pot it will stay petite, but it can grow quite large if you want a burst of evergreen color.

The plant also keeps its green needles all year, meaning it gives great color even when all other plants die out.

4. Blue Spruce

The blue spruce, and in particular the Colorado blue spruce, is an iconic holiday plant. It is one of the best types of Christmas trees you can grow, but these plants provide just as much beauty while they are alive and growing.

A blue spruce takes on a Christmas tree shape from an early age, and its plentiful branches add a beautiful blueish-green color to your landscaping. You can even decorate these trees each holiday season as they grow, making your outdoor winter garden look lively and festive.

5. Cotoneaster

The cotoneaster is another plant that provides green and additional colors to your winter landscaping. This perennial keeps its green color all year round and has lovely red berries that grow throughout the year.

The cotoneaster stays low to the ground, which makes it a perfect plant for ground cover. It can hide the cold dead ground with its dense greenery and dots of red berries, making your outdoor space look alive, even when it’s below freezing.

6. Thread Branch Cypress

Cypress trees and bushes keep their color, often providing greenery as well as sporting rusty red trunks. Nearly any type of cypress will give your yard some pleasant winter color, and the thread branch cypress is a great bush cypress for winter landscaping.

This cypress variety sports more delicate branches with lots of green color. It also stays rather small, so you can add it to nearly any outdoor nook, no matter how small.

7. Wintercreeper

If you want a versatile plant that will give you stunning color throughout the winter, wintercreeper is a great choice. For one, this plant grows fast, so you can plant it in the summer and expect great color all winter long.

Furthermore, wintercreeper has many varieties, some of which are variegated and colorful. This plant can be a shrub, ground cover, and even a vine, depending on where you plant it and how you train it.

8. Ornamental Cabbage And Kale

Another great colorful ground cover option is ornamental cabbage. Just like edible cabbage, ornamental cabbage comes in an assortment of colors. You can choose from white and green to purple, and some with all three colors.

Ornamental kale is another option, and using both can offer a lovely contrast. These are great to plant in barren spaces where seasonal flowers usually live, and they can last all winter.

9. Eastern White Pine

White pine trees are a unique evergreen that are popular in many northern yards. The eastern white pine is a great plant for those looking to add long-lasting color and life to a winter garden.

The eastern white pine has resilient thick and waxy needles that look great and also retain their water. This means they usually stay on the tree for the entire winter. If you live somewhere with rough and dry winters, then an eastern white pine is a great choice for a green winter plant.

10. Barberry

Barberry bushes are beautiful and low-maintenance outdoor garden plants. Barberry bushes are cold-hearty plants, and come in a variety of sizes and colors, making them great for many garden types.

It’s important you know that some barberry plants are deciduous, and therefore shed their leaves and colors before the winter. Ensure you opt for an evergreen variety of barberry to ensure you have a green color in your garden all winter.

11. Witch Hazel

Witch hazel is a fascinating plant that provides medicinal benefits as well as pops of winter color. This plant has green leaves, but in the winter and early spring, it takes on a new and colorful life. From the dead-looking branches sprout colorful string-like flowers. 

These flowers are yellow, orange, and even red. This is a great way to help your winter garden look alive when most other plants are sleeping or dead.

12. Juniper

Juniper is a diverse species of coniferous plant that often provides vibrant green needles as well as colorful berries. These plants are related to cypress, and they provide equally stoic beauty. 

You can choose larger tree species or junipers that are ground cover. Just make sure you opt for a species that will thrive and keep its colors in your growing zone. 

13. Arborvitae

One last great evergreen plant you can add to your garden for green color throughout cold winter months is the arborvitae. This popular evergreen grows fast and dense, making it great for privacy hedges that stay lush all winter.

You can sculpt these plants to give them dynamic shapes. They are cold hardy and easy to grow, making them a great low-maintenance and fast-growing evergreen option.

Wrapping Up Outdoor Plants The Give Great Color All Winter

Winter is a tough time of year for plants. After the first frost, many plants either go dormant or shrivel up and die. If you want to ensure your garden always has some life and color in it, plant an evergreen like blue spruce, eastern white pine, yew, or even a cypress or juniper plant. Holly, ornamental cabbage, and cotoneaster are great options for those who want both green and additional colors like red and purple in a winter garden.

Related Guides:

• Helpful Tips To Keep Outdoor Plants Alive In The Winter
• What Citrus Trees Can Survive An Annual Frost?
• 20 Different Types of Holly Bushes (with Photos)