I'm a big fan of garden plants that brighten up the gardens in all seasons. Sure I love my peonies and iris, daylilies and dahlias but give me something for the month of December! The winter season is always an interesting challenge for the individual that loves to garden. Some people refer to winter as drab; I prefer to think of it as a study in the shades of sienna or tan, orange and deep brown. Even as you travel along our local roads you may have noticed how interesting the many browns of winter can be.There is a particularly magnificent hilltop that is clothed in little bluestem, located just past Aldie on Route 50, as you're heading west on the right hand side of the road. Left unmowed from summer, it offers the viewer a glance at the richness of russet brown in the winter landscape. Further west there are beautifully rich colored branches on trees and shrubs, many at the turn as you pass Cobb House Road, still more as you near Fox Chase Farm. On the color wheel these various shades of brown reside between red, and yellow, kin to orange. An analogous color would be red and just as the poinsettia has become a cheerful necessity in December with red bracts, the affect of red indoors is even more powerful outdoors.

There are numerous shrubs that are capable of producing bright red berries for the winter months, but few shrubs can compete with the holly or Ilex for a winter show. A local native, Ilex verticillata or winterberry is hard to beat. This naturally occuring shrub grows from Maine to Georgia and there are two, national record holders, both reside in Virginia Beach, the largest one at 16 feet tall and 13 feet wide. This group of hollies is deciduous, leaving little doubt as to why they are so striking. Imagine leafless stems covered in red berries. Red is the most common of colors for the berries but there are also orange and, yellow berried cultivars. The popularity of this shrub may have first been recognized by the florist trade. The cut stems hold up for a long period and may even last longer if placed in a vase without water. In fact, florists have struggled to keep pace with the demand for the cut branches of winterberry and the demand continues to surge as international markets discover this extraordinary native shrub.

In the garden one must plant a male and a female and extremely dry areas should be avoided. A rich soil with irrigation during summer droughts is adequate for Ilex verticillata culture. Dwarf varieties grow to five feet, and standard selections reach an average ten feet. There are numerous choices when concentrating on types of berries; these include not only color, but size and persistence of fruit. I have found that the mockingbird and cat bird will eat berries during the early months of winter, seeking the red berries over orange or yellow. Most of the time the birds of spring prefer the fruit, feeding on the berries after repeated freezes and thaws have dissolved the internal acids.

There are two cycles of bloom for the males and females, early and late. Hence one must match up the necessary male for berry set. The easiest thing to do is plant both an early and late flowering male to ensure pollination, as the flowering period is not always guaranteed (females may shift a little earlier or later). Additionally the prime pollinator, the honeybee, is not as common as it used to be. Keep in mind that the male pollinator will not produce any berries and may be obvious (in winter) when surrounded by fruiting females. Their bloom time extends from the fourth week in May to the fourth week in June, and an ample supply of water in June will help your plants keep more berries. You may consider mulching with composted cow manure and checking your soil's pH, as it has been found that very acidic soils produce a lower berry set. Local favorites include Ilex 'Sparkelberry', hybridized at the National Arboretum, Ilex 'Winter Red' for its heavy berry set and Ilex 'Red Sprite' a popular dwarf. I recently saw a stand of Ilex 'Winter Gold' with its creamy gold berries and immediately imagined how nice it would look against the yellow branches of a golden thread leafed cypress.

By adding the aforementioned russet blades of little blue stem or schizachyrium, this colorful grouping would make for a jolly December garden.