| The bamboo-screened trellis in this garden provides a sense of scale around the flagstone patio and a point of interest in the winter, as does the burbling basalt water feature. The blue oat grass and mondo grass add cold-weather textures. Is your winter garden a patch of yellows and browns with an isolated evergreen or two? It doesn't have to be that way. "So often you'll go to people's homes and they do annuals and perennials, and this time of year things all disappear," says Kim Rooney, a landscape architect in Ravenna. "I start with the winter garden." For Rooney and other local landscape designers, evergreens, specimen trees and some grasses — along with patios and pedestrian pathways — are a source of beauty in and of themselves. They also provide the critical foundation for everything that flourishes in spring, summer and fall. "Winter elements give you the bones," Rooney says. "I begin with structure and bark and branching, and then work backward with the perennials and color." One strategy for kick-starting that process is a visit to nurseries in November and December to see what particular plants, shrubs and trees look like in the wintertime. Once there, you can start to think about plants in winter-smart terms. "You want to look for plants that will give you texture and color interest," says Michal Lehmann, a landscape designer for Lifestyle Landscapes in Seattle. In winter, that means interesting leaves and bark. For example, coral bark Japanese maple and red-barked dogwood offer burgundy bark and twigs that look especially gorgeous coated with rain or frost. After the leaves have fallen is the best time to appreciate the swirling branches of corkscrew willow ( with cream, yellow and pinkish rimmed leaves; and witch hazel, which puts out spidery yellow or reddish blooms in midwinter. Rhododendrons are a winter staple for Steve Haizlip, owner of New Leaf Creations in Issaquah, and one particular favorite is . While the tops of the leaves are a shiny, dark green, the undersides are covered in a rich cinnamon-colored fuzz. Haizlip also uses miscanthus, tall grass with wheat-like plums, which he lets go dormant and cuts back in the spring. For a nice bronze contrast, he'll group But the particular demands of the winter garden require more than astute plant selection. Haizlip encourages his clients to incorporate art in the garden — anything from a whirligig to a granite ball. In the summer, these details are often hidden by growth. "When fall and winter come around, the art becomes more prominent," he says. Rooney suggests leaving garden furniture out in the yard. A brightly colored wood bench
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