Watching the sun rise and lay an orange light on tan fields in winter creates a visual warmth that creeps deep into the soul. At no other time of year do we experience this near absence of green in the landscape. The gardener often plants evergreens so that it doesn't seem too drab. Entire gardens have been designed with winter in mind. Clipped evergreen hedges line walkways, kerria and Jasminum nudiflorum are favorites for their green winter stems. These gardens are often placed in a strategic visual path, say outside the kitchen window or directly out from the bedroom. It's only logical that the gardener would want to green the landscape up, but maybe the garden should be warmed up with tans, browns, reds and oranges, and nothing else. Could it be done without any green? Using the warm side of the color wheel, everything from the color of the mulch to the use of certain perennials, trees, and shrubs, it would not be that difficult. Even the lawn could be changed so that it is intentionally tan, a feat I have seen and admired very much.

Notice the dominance of tan or blond for the next two months. Prevalent in many ornamental grasses, some are even native. The leaves of beech trees match this as does zoysia grass and the dried heads of most hydrangeas. In perennials, the dried seed heads of lilies are exactly that tan, as well as the seed pods on hardy hibiscus. Don't cut the leaves on Siberian iris, they are perfect for the warm winter garden with upright blades of brown.

Great blocks or sweeps of color may be needed and brown in richer colors like russet, camel and chocolate added to enrich the palette. Some of this can be accomplished with mulch, perhaps pebbles or pine straw. Even shredded hardwood in its natural color will work. A few evergreen shrubs turn brown in winter, one of the best is Juniperus horizontalis 'Andorra' which becomes a milk chocolate color. The dried heads of Pee Gee hydrangea are satisfactory. When trained as a small tree, the bent stems form a perfect archway, each branch dripping with the dried flower head from the summer before.

The peeling bark on a number of trees will warm the mix. Deciduous of course, the bare trunks must be warm. River birch some to mind but there are a few other perfect candidates. Consider some of the cherry trees or prunus and the witch hazel relative Parrotia persica. There is the eloquent Acer griseum too, the holy grail for the gardeners warm garden with rich layers of brown exfoliating bark.

The final ingredient can now be inserted and these will knock the temperature up by several degrees. Yellow, gold, red and orange - a dabble here and there. Deciduous hollies are completely necessary. Bare branches loaded with berries in all of the warmest colors cannot be ignored in this warm landscape. My current favorite is Ilex 'Winter Gold' with berries that start as pale orange and age to yellow. The viburnums offer a few note worthy members, namely Viburnum 'Michael Dodge' and V. setigerum - the latter produces berries that ripen from orange to red. The twigged dogwood, Cornus 'Midwinter Fire' earns a place, stems of brilliant yellow orange are so gorgeous. Flowering witch hazels add color and fragrance. Rich in oranges but also yellow, the winter garden is always home for these fabulous shrubs that flower anytime from January to March. A scattering of heathes and heathers can be carefully selected to underplant. Varieties like Calluna 'Blazeaway' speak for themselves, like a flow of molten lava, the warmth seeps into your soul. The gardeners chicken soup.