It’s getting colder here in the UK with winter well on the way. Although a winter landscape may be depressing when the only living things in sight are skeleton trees and pines way off in the distance, there are things you can do to liven your garden up at this time of year, ready for next summer.

While it may be too late this season to landscape with winter beauty in mind, it’s not too late to plan for next year. After winter settles in, take a look out of your normally favorite window views, walk around your garden and then with the following ideas for plants in mind, take some notes.

Some of the plants that display best in a winter landscape are those that display colourful berries, stay green, catch snow in their branches or have interesting bark.

When you plan your winter landscaping ideas draw out ways in which you can incorporate multiple varieties of evergreens, berry bearing plants and plants with eye-catching bark colours and textures.

Two types of evergreens form the foundation for a beautiful winter landscape:

• Broadleaf Evergreens: These have leaves similar to those found on deciduous plants except they stay green year round. Examples include rhododendron, the holly-like leafed mahonia and ivy.

• Narrowleaf Evergreens: These include pines and spruces, yews or taxus, and the junipers that provide greenery all year round.

Shrubs and trees that produce berries provide additional colour in a winter landscape in more ways than one: berries also attract birds which, in turn, add extra life and colour to the garden. Here are a few examples of what is available:

• Winterberry Holly: This holly sheds its leaves in winter, adding to the dramatic contrast between the bright red berries and the snow that settles in its branches and surrounds it. Birds love the berries.

• Bayberry: This broadleaved evergreen provides glossy, aromatic foliage all year round. The waxy, grey berries are not colourful, but they do attract many species of birds.

• Evergreen holly is popular due to it year-round foliage and bright berries that attract many bird species.

• The compact American cranberry bush offers masses of red berries that attract wintering birds and is hardy to relatively cold tempatures.

Many types of crab apple retain their fruit through the winter, adding red fruit to the landscape (and attracting deer and birds). The hawthorn family. provides a good range of red and orange colours.

The red dogwood’s bark, ranging from red to burgundy is striking in a winter landscape. The paper birch tree gives the appearance that it is shedding its bark, which peels from the trunk in white strips. The yellow birch is the golden cousin of the paper birch. The branches of Harry Lauder’s Walking Stick, a large shrub or small tree, twist and turn in curly cues. The espaliered evergreens can be trained to grow up walls and fences in all kinds of shapes.

You may also consider ornamental grasses and grass-like plants to add interest, as well as attracting birds that use them for food and shelter. Many grow tall enough that they won’t be hidden under the snow. One example is Sweet Flag, a native North American perennial with varieties that range up to 6 feet tall and emit a lovely fragrance when crushed.

Conifers include a vast amount of selection which look great in the winter landscape.