Merry Greetings and Happy Holidays to you and yours from all of us at Nature Hills Nursery!
When the winter holidays, frost and snow settle over the landscape, and Ma Nature exhales her frosty breath across every branch and bud, it’s the evergreen shrubs that refuse to dim. These cold-hardy, fragrant, and deeply colored evergreens hold their green through snow, wind, and long cold nights. They stand like quiet guardians of the season, offering structure, scent, and bold winter interest when the garden slips into its long winter nap.
These evergreen shrubs and holiday landscaping plants don’t simply survive the cold. They make winter feel alive, sparkling, and soulful. They bring the holly-jolly heart of Christmas right into the yard, turning every front walk, porch pot, and snowy garden bed into a greeting-card scene. With glossy foliage, bright berries, colorful stems, and evergreen needles, these shrubs deliver reliable winter color and year-round beauty.
Below, explore the winter plants that shine brightest when days grow short. Their leaves, stems, berries, and blooms keep the holiday spirit humming along from the solstice to the New Year and well beyond.
Boxwood: Winter’s Evergreen Embrace
Boxwood carries centuries of holiday tradition in its glossy evergreen leaves. Nestled beside a walkway or shaped into tidy globes and cones, this shrub feels like a warm green lantern glowing through the darkest nights. Its dense branching creates sculpted forms that echo old-world gardens and modern minimalist designs all in one. The evergreen foliage stays rich and full through winter, making Boxwood a must-have cornerstone for entry décor, foundation planting, porch pots, and winter interest landscapes.
Arborvitae: The Evergreen Sentinel
Arborvitae rises proudly, a living column of deep green even when snow stacks along its soft, fragrant scales. Its name means tree of life, and it earns that title every winter. Arborvitae offers privacy, structure, and confidence when the rest of the garden takes a seasonal pause. In mid-winter, these vertical evergreens stand still but never silent. They whisper resilience, frame front doors, hold holiday lights beautifully, and add height where winter often feels flat. For larger spaces, Arborvitae Trees offer the same iconic winter structure with more stature.
Spruce: The Spirit of Christmas Rooted in Your Yard
Few plants feel as instantly festive as Spruce. With its strong, layered branches, blue-green needles, and classic Christmas-tree silhouette, Spruce transforms any landscape into a winter postcard. Snow catches on the needles like scattered crystals, and the sturdy limbs keep their shape no matter how deep winter settles. This is the evergreen that invites twinkle lights, front-yard displays, and pure seasonal magic.
Pine: Whispering Needles and Woodland Wonder
Pine brings softness and movement to the winter scene. Long, graceful needles sway with even the slightest breeze, creating that soothing woodland whisper we associate with quiet snowy mornings. Its fresh Pine fragrance feels nostalgic and grounding. Pine stays strong and steady through winter, adding texture, height, and that classic evergreen scent that feels like a deep breath for the spirit.
Nandina: Winter’s Fiery Heartbeat
As cold winds sweep in, Nandina heats up. Upright canes glow with bold red berries and shifting winter foliage that ranges from bronze to burgundy to vivid fire-red. Nandina doesn’t just decorate the winter garden; it electrifies it. Against dark evergreens, those berries look like little lanterns. Against fresh snow, they read like ruby gems that Ma Nature scattered by hand.
More Holiday Landscaping Plants That Bring the Season to Life
These plants add even more color, glow, and charm to winter landscapes. Their berries, blooms, stems, and evergreen foliage offer beauty when it’s needed most.
Winterberry Holly: The Season’s Red Symphony
Once the leaves drop, Winterberry Holly steals the show. Bare branches transform into bright clusters of scarlet berries that look like ornaments hung by Ma Nature herself. Winterberry feeds birds, brightens landscapes, and adds that iconic holiday red that makes a garden feel warm even on the chilliest days.
The berries ring out like the red notes in winter’s song.
Red Twig Dogwood: Fire Against the Frost
When winter strips away foliage, Red Twig Dogwood takes center stage. The remarkable stems blaze red, coral, bright yellow, or nearly fluorescent pink, glowing against snow or dormant ground. This shrub injects energy and color into the quiet months, creating dramatic focal points and stunning seasonal arrangements.
Oregon Grape Holly: Evergreen Armor and Golden Promises
Oregon Grape Holly features glossy, leathery evergreen leaves that shine through snow and ice like polished armor. Late winter brings fragrant yellow blossoms, glowing like golden hints of the spring to come. With year-round structure, bright seasonal color, and wildlife benefits, it’s a winter MVP! For small spaces, the more compact form, Compact Oregon Grape Holly, delivers the same winter brilliance in a tighter footprint.
Andromeda (Pieris): Winter Pearls on Evergreen Leaves
Come fall, Andromeda (Pieris) sets delicate clusters of pale buds that hang like pearl strands through winter. Each cluster adds an elegant wintry touch against deep evergreen foliage that stays lush all year. These buds are true winter jewelry in the landscape.
Rosemary: A Fragrant Evergreen That Feels Like Home
Tuscan Blue Rosemary may not be a traditional Christmas shrub, but its evergreen needle-like leaves, aromatic fragrance, and tidy form make it perfect for holiday planters and porch pots in warmer climates. It smells like winter feasts and warm kitchens. It grows easily in containers, offering both beauty and a handy culinary bonus during the holiday cooking season. For a trailing look in winter pots or over stone walls, Creeping Rosemary adds graceful cascading greenery that stays evergreen all season.
Hellebore: The Christmas Rose That Brings Light to the Dark
Hellebore pushes up elegant blooms in the coldest weeks of winter. Flowers appear in shades of blush, ivory, plum, speckled tones, or snow-white, each bloom nodding gently in the frost. These blossoms feel rare and sacred, reminding us that life moves quietly beneath the frozen ground and beauty always finds a way through.
Coral Bark Japanese Maple: Winter’s Pink Glow
Not evergreen, yet undeniably winter-worthy, Coral Bark Japanese Maple brings pure artistry to the season. Its branches glow coral-pink in cold weather, turning gray skies into a soft watercolor scene. This tree is the botanical version of a cozy fire, warming up even the deepest winter landscape.
Witch Hazel: Winter’s Flicker of Magic
While deciduous, the unusual flowering time of the Common Witch Hazel brings sparks of color when the cold feels endless. Fall-flowering types glow in golden or coppery tones just as the rest of the garden winds down, while the winter-flowering beauty, Vernal Witch Hazel, bursts open in bright yellow or warm red right in the heart of January. Each ribbon-like petal curls and unfurls with the temperature, adding a touch of movement and mystery. Lightly fragrant and sculptural, Witch Hazel keeps Ma Nature’s lantern glowing when the landscape needs it most.
Bringing Light to the Winter Garden
Evergreen shrubs and holiday landscaping plants give winter landscapes their structure, sparkle, and heartbeat. They hold color when all else fades. They frame snow like living sculptures. They scent the air, feed wildlife, anchor the porch, and keep seasonal magic close to home.
These winter wonders don’t just decorate, they transform the garden into a celebration of color, fragrance, and quiet joy. Plant them now, and every cold season becomes a reason to step outside and smile.
Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Happy Planting!