Winterland: Create a Beautiful Garden for Every Season

by Cathy Rees

Filled with lush photography, this practical and accessible guide will show you how to make your garden a place of beauty and inspiration during the winter months, as well as throughout the year.

Why put all of our gardening effort into the magnificent but short months of summer? With Winterland , learn how the dramatic stillness of a garden in winter provides abundant opportunities to deepen our connection with nature. Accomplished landscape designer Cathy Rees guides you through the basics of creating rich and compelling all-season garden environments—exploring form, texture, plant choices, lighting, and more. Design strategies are reinforced by practical advice on garden care, pruning, maintenance, and coexisting with animals and birds. Learn how to position a distinctive tree to capture the first rays of a rosy December sunrise, or reconceive the flow of an entire landscape. Winterland gives gardeners the tools to develop outdoor havens that will evolve over seasons and years, to become true garden sanctuaries for any season.

Genres: Gardening, Nonfiction

192 pages, Hardcover

Published October 26, 2021

Reviews

[Lorilin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book made me think. I even learned a couple new words, which doesn't happen often.

I loved the focus on the "skeleton" of my yard. What are the bones holding it all up? This book made me consider structural elements like stones (boulders), trellises, plant supports, attractive animal shelter, and rain rings.

I like the idea that winter is a time of contrasts, so focusing on elements that can show that makes sense. What shadows will be created through a fence? Maybe I can plant a vine that will contrast with the side of my house. Maybe I can put out a terra cotta pot that will visually "pop" against a snowy backdrop. I just thought author Cathy Rees offered some interesting ideas for embracing the winter garden.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gorgeous photos and really helpful advice.

[G · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really learned so much from this book. I took my time with it - I didn't just read it. I highlighted as I read and then I took notes from the book and added them to my gardening journal (along with supporting pictures from the book, magazines, and internet). So much information! I have already started doing some of the things the author recommends.
Reading this book brought back so many great memories and is one of the reasons I have so much interest in creating a winter garden in the first place.
Ms. Rees writes in a personable style. Reading this book was like going out to coffee with a friend, combined with receiving one-on-one tutoring in lessons on garden design.

[Jeff · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book can be a good reference guide to be borrowed from a library, but I wouldn't recommend purchasing.

Covered major consoderations to garden design with respect to the winter: texture, layering  contrast, etc.


Through out the book there are some passing comments about natuve plants and establishing habitats for creatures. There was also a substantial section dedicated to creating habitats. But I was disappointed by the lack of discussion integrating native gardening and winter design. Multiple recommended plants are non-native or invasive to the author's region, which was concerning.


I also wanted more connection and discussion between the presented topics and the sample images provided in the text. The book assumes a descent amount of prior gardening experience to apply the winter techniques to a garden.

[Alyssa Bohon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful, informative, and fun to read. Every winter, I try to read something that boosts my positivity (or combats my negativity) about the chilly season, and this definitely fit the bill.

Of course, reading about landscape ideas can get inspirationally expensive, but she gives plenty of ideas for simple steps as well as encouragement to go slowly.

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

A surprisingly readable and informative book about considerations for creating visual interest in a garden in winter. The author hails from Maine, so some of the specific plants won’t be applicable here in Colorado, but there is still plenty of good information to apply here.

[Blueknit]

Lovely pictures

[Juli Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was expecting something that was a little more focused and specific. This felt a little rambling and too general.

[Trish · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was neat reading a book about gardening for the winter.