New to winter gardens

You are certainly not too late to plan and dream! If you haven't done so already, you really must read the post by Luseal from 2002. It is reprised about the middle of this page of posts.
I first came across it about 4-5 years ago and have been gradually changing my labor-intensive perennial plantings to shrubs, grasses, evergreens. Since I am 63 and hope to live here until they plant ME, I found that dead-heading and dead-leafing the "beautiful-for-one-day" daylilies I had so loved was becoming a little much! Also like you I wanted something to make me smile as I looked out our many large windows when it was too cold or snowy or icy to be outside. Additionally I wanted to bring more wildlife to my part of this new development where most homes are surrounded by lawn in "various states of repair" with one bradford pear usually smack in the muddle. Seeing birds come to the feeders in winter and then hang around to raise their young the next spring just delights me. As the gardens fill in, there are more kinds of birds visiting, including a large and very beautiful Cooper's hawk! This year I had more hummingbirds than last year, TWO pairs of bluebirds using the nest boxes and jst a week ago a wold turkey visited briefly!
I look for plants (shrubs, trees, vines, etc) in books, on line, this forum that offer at least 3 seasons of interest and hopefully something for wildlife. Look at deciduous holly, some viburnums, native grasses, shrub dogwoods, the tall sedums, self-sowing annuals for late spring to fall color. If you have no beds prepared now, start looking out your windows and imagine what you'd like to see out there on a bitter cold January day. That's how I chose the spot for five red-twig dogwoods with golden arborvitae behing them. At 3pm in the winter I make it point to look out our patio door to see the sinking sun light up that combination of shrubs and I smile - every single time! They've been there now 3 years and I've yet to find them ho-hum. I'm also finding their maintenance to be very easy and not at all time consuming; most of the plants need spring clean-up, water in drought and a good cover of mulch. It's so much more pleasant to be doing this work in the cool spring weather than in 90degree July!
It may be a little late to have something in place for this winter but you could sheet-compost an area for a head start in early spring.
Good Luck
Pat in PA

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