I'm linking the Show us your gardens thread for last December. You can follow additional links in that thread to other winter months to see what different. Ew england era have planted former interest.

Here is a link that might be useful: December 2013 Show Us Your Gardens

Look at foliage with coniferous evergreens such as dwarf blue spruce (will be prickly, but lovely color) or some of the more colorful dwarf (2'-8')arborvitaes (Thuja) - Rheingold would be a lovely one. Some of the broad-leafed evergreens such as Leucathoe or rhododendron (PJM turns mahogany) or mountain laurel have lovely winter foliage, especially when the temperature is above 15 or 20 degrees (they tend to curl up at really low temperatures.) There are variegated boxwood varieties, and some of the Daphnes such as D. 'Summer Ice' will keep their leaves in your zone. Some heathers have quite bright foliage, expecially in winter. Don't forget that there are evergreen ground covers and perennials that will maintain colorful foliage until snow covers them, such as thyme, coral bells (Heuchera), cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon), pinks (Dianthus), and sedge (Carex) including 'Ice Dance' and 'Evergold'.

Here's a photo of a garden I planted with winter interest in mind (though I have more space, so other varieties may work better in your yard.)
Two arborvitae ('Techny' on left is dark green and 'Sunkist' on right is green-gold); up the middle are three shrubby plants, front to back, Rhododendron 'Olga Mezitt', 'Fat Albert' blue spruce, and a clumping bamboo; the blueish groundcover at the foot of 'Sunkist' is Dianthus 'Greystone' and catmint 'Nepeta' is the silvery-gray plant to the left of the rhododendron.
{{gwi:278791}}From December 2010

This garden has (front to back) cranberry, Carex 'Ice Dance', Rhododendron 'Nova Zembla', Iberis, and the dark purple at the very back is Rhododendron 'Checkmate'.
{{gwi:648226}}From November 14, 2012

I don't remember the variety of this bright orange heather (Calluna vulgaris.)

Look into interesting bark, such as the red or orange or green-gold shades of young branches of several of the shrubby dogwoods like Cornus alba or C. sericea. Some of them are huge, but there are some that have been selected for smaller stature. A few of the Japanese maples have colorful twigs, and most have interesting winter silhouettes. There are some "snakebark" or "striped" maples with red or green and white striped bark, and paperbark maple (Acer griseum) has shiny cinnamon colored bark that peels into curls all along the trunk. These maples will all be small trees.

Berries can add color through the fall months into early winter, especially hollies, both evergreen and deciduous, beauty berry (Callicarpa) and some of the crabapples. Berries will bring fruit-eating birds to your garden, adding their color and motion.

There are also various plants that bloom particularly early or late. For instance there are several quite late-blooming hardy mums (do a search on the perennials forum for mums), fall-blooming crocus, Hellebores, witch hazel shrubs (Hamamelis x intermedia) though most of those can get large, Camellias (there are some that are hardy to zone 6 which you can do a search of the New England forum to find), Gelsemium sempervirens Margarita, and Iris reticulata. Even as far north as I am, I some years have flowers as late as late November or early December, and most years bloom starts in late March.

Pixie Lou linked one winter thread of the "show us your gardens" series but there are threads for every month for a couple of years and you could rummage through the winter months for plants that appeal to you.

Thank you nhbabs, for your great answer to my question! Lots of great suggestions there, I will definitely look into! Beautiful winter interest in your gardens btw!

Most get big, but Holly has berries and can have silver edges to their leaves. Blue Atlas Cedar, Blue Spruce. Northern Sea Oats have interesting seed heads in the fall. Their is a fluffy blue juniper they are selling at home Depot right now that looks small...silver mound artemisia?

This post was edited by edlincoln on Tue, Jul 8, 14 at 10:35

Sheffield pink mums bloom well after frost.

I grow winter heath (Erica carnea), winter jasmine (Jasminum nudiflorum), witch hazel, winterhazel (corylopsis) and several types of hellebores, and have color nearly all year. I especially like the deep purple heath backed by cotoneaster, whose leaves turn deep reddish green, almost maroon, in winter.

One of these years I'll be able to add hardy camellia to that list, but I haven't seen flowers on it yet, and don't really know when mine will bloom (no ID on it). I've also got hardy cyclamen out there somewhere, but didn't list it because I haven't seen it in bloom for awhile (it's been swamped by some shrubs).

I also have some deciduous hollies, various kinds of viburnum, and nandina domestica that have great berries; also some unusual conifers with good winter texture, and several trees with beautiful bark, especially the crape myrtles.

These, plus the overall geometric design of my in-town garden, and the nice old-brick paving, get me through the winter months. The layout and the quality of the paving are not so important in summer, when there's so much color, but they really come to the fore in winter.

So many good suggestions here. I would urge you to visit Tranquil Lake Nursery in Rehoboth MA where Warren Leach has done a spectacular job designing extensive display gardens for all seasons. They have workshops (free) as well- listed on their website.

A terrific book and dvd on Winter Garden Design by Adrian Bloom. Also, in October or winter, spend well-spent time visiting Arnold Arboretum, Tranquil Lake and other gardens to see plants that you like and their sun/shade growing needs. Keep in mind that color is not just in foliage/needles, but also: Stems and Berries and bark and seed capsules(incl. evergreen vines like Pyracantha.)

Do some homework too, so that you're a step ahead of the game when you seek advice at nurseries, etc.!

Here is a link that might be useful: cotton-arbo retum; free; open to the public