Garden structure, garden bones

Cedar screens, both natural and (hu)man-made

You may come across the term "garden bones" which simply refers to the more permanent features of a garden like paths, pergolas, fences, gates, gazebos, statues and mature (evergreen) shrubs and trees. Even dead stalks and seedheads from the previous year can be included as structure. Much like our bones hold up muscle and skin, the garden's "harder" framework gives definition to the more fleeting flowers and foliage we enjoy. Winter is the season, for better or worse, that forces you to see the connectors of the yard without being distracted by colour. You'll have a better sense why things "flow" or not, why a strong focal point in the summer (could be a flowering shrub or small tree) isn't one for the other three seasons, and why a fence's colour or material isn't as substantial as it should be.

Dry river bed garden

Take a walk around the gardens before the snow is too deep (still waiting for this in balmy Toronto) or the winds are too bitter and notice if there's still "winter interest." The garden's "bonier" elements ideally should be beautiful and functional in their own right. After all, a third of the gardening year around here is void of flowers and foliage so it would be a waste of an opportunity not to highlight the weightier bones which ultimately give form and shape to the garden in its entirety.

By Paul Jung, author of "garden muses: a Toronto gardening blog"