We may earn revenue from the products available on this page and participate in affiliate programs. Learn More ›
Does your home’s landscape look barren and brown after autumn leaves fall, and doesn’t perk back up again until spring? Most homeowners think about how their beds will look when they’re in full bloom, but few imagine how that same bed will look in the dead of winter. Outdoor winter plants that add beautiful contrast to a snowy landscape aren’t just good for your curb appeal—they can also provide critical food sources and nesting sites for wildlife. As you consider updates to the plants and shrubs that surround your home, look to these appealing, year-round options.
1. Blue Ice Bog Rosemary (Andromeda polifolia ‘Blue Ice’)
Blue Ice bog rosemary’s unique silvery-blue foliage looks good in every season, plus this evergreen ground cover delights with a shock of pink bell-shaped blooms in early spring. Perfect for rock gardens and moist soils, it will attract birds and bring visual interest to the yard all year.
USDA plant hardiness zone: 2 to 6
Size: 1 to 2 feet high and wide
Where to buy: Get a 1-gallon Blue Ice Bog Rosemary at The Tree Center for $39.50
2. Carsten’s Wintergold Mugo Pine (Pinus mugo ‘Carsten’s Wintergold’)
This dwarf pine variety turns from green to gold when cold weather arrives. In fact, the colder the climate, the more intense its color becomes. This rabbit- and deer-resistant plant is easy to care for, and an evergreen shrub that will look beautiful all year long. It grows slowly, but immediately adds low-growing color and texture to a winter bed.
USDA plant hardiness zone: 2 to 7
Size: nearly 2 feet high and wide
Where to buy: Get a 1-gallon potted Carstens Wintergold Mugo Pine at Mike’s Plants on Etsy for $75
3. Weeping Norway Spruce (Picea abies ‘Pendula’)
Many weeping ornamentals lose their leaves in cold weather, but not the weeping Norway spruce. With its unusual shape and showy cones, this evergreen makes a great accent in the garden and provides rich green in all four seasons. It can thrive in many soil types, including rich sandy soils, and has low water needs once established.
USDA plant hardiness zone: 3 to 7
Size: 4 feet high and 15 feet around
Where to buy: Get a 3- to 4-foot high Weeping Norway Spruce at Spring Hill Nurseries for $299
4. Tiny Buttons Stonecrop (Sedum hispanicum var. minus)
This evergreen succulent creates a lush and attractive carpet that thrives year-round in cool to warm climates. Most boast tiny flowers that attract butterflies in summer, and the foliage of Pink Form and Purple Form can take on reddish to purple hues in colder months. Easy to care for in full sun, this little wonder packs a lot of life in its compact height but excellent spread. After a season or two, it is xeric.
USDA plant hardiness zone: 5 to 9
Size: 1 feet high and 1 to 1.5 feet around
Where to buy: Get a 4-inch pot of Sedum Hispanicum at Cristina’s Garden on Etsy for $10.99
5. Pot Belly Pittosporum (Pitttosporum crassifolium)
For evergreen ground cover in warmer climates, try Pot Belly Pittosporum. The tough little shrub flowers in spring and summer, leaving its silvery green foliage with a white underside on the plant through winter. Best of all, it keeps its rounded shape with little maintenance required. Pot Belly Pittosporum is drought tolerant once established and can grow in partial to full sun.
USDA plant hardiness zone: 8 to 11
Size: 4 feet tall and wide
Where to buy: Get a 1-gallon Pot Belly Pittosporum at Cornell Farm for $28.99
6. Frosty Fire Dianthus (Dianthus × allwoodii ‘Frosty Fire’)
This ground-hugging variety of dianthus is evergreen and cold hardy. Its gray-green foliage erupts in summer with flowers, making it a wonderful filler both in the garden and in pots, so feel free to grow it in a container and overwinter it indoors in colder zones. The flowers are also fragrant, adding a clove-like scent to the garden.
USDA plant hardiness zone: 3 to 8
Size: about 1 foot high and wide
Where to buy: Get a 1-gallon Frosty Fire Dianthus at Holly Days for $11.99
7. Dwarf Globe Blue Spruce (Picea pungens ‘Globosa’)
If you’re looking for a distinctive shade of evergreen color, dwarf globe blue spruce delivers. This slow-growing, densely branched conifer has blue needles that become more brilliant in summer. It makes a wonderful low hedge, or stands out as a small rabbit-resistant shrub.
USDA plant hardiness zone: 4 to 8
Size: 2 to 3 feet high and 3 to 4 feet wide
Where to buy: Get a 1-gallon Dwarf Globe Blue Spruce tree at Trees.com for $54.95
8. Pink Pussytoes (Antennaria dioica ‘Rubra’)
Pink pussytoe plants provide an evergreen mat of tiny silver-gray leaves. In late spring, the plant spikes deep pink, fuzzy flowers. It’s a slow grower and requires little water once established, so this cold-hardy beauty is a breeze to care for in any season. The native cultivar grows best in full sun.
USDA plant hardiness zone: 3 to 8
Size: 0.5 feet high and 1 foot wide
Where to buy: Get a bag of 20 Pussytoes seeds at SeedCult on Etsy for $2.99
9. Snowdrops (Galanthus nivalis)
Snowdrop bulbs are happiest with cold or moderate winters, and are among favorite winter-flowering plants. Place them in full or partial where you can enjoy their delicate white flowers in the fall and throughout the cold months, even during snow. Come spring, they’ll go dormant.
USDA plant hardiness zone: 3 to 9
Size: 0.5 feet high and wide
Where to buy: Get a bag of 25 Galanthus Nivalis bulbs at White Flower Farm for $20
10. Christmas Rose (Helleborus niger)
Christmas rose, a variety of hellebore, is a pest-resistant evergreen perennial. It also provides valuable nectar for early pollinators, like the rusty patched bumblebee, who are seeking blooms in late winter or early spring. Find it a shady location with space to grow, and soon you’ll enjoy its white winter blooms in the warmer end of their growing range or early spring where colder.
USDA plant hardiness zone: 3 to 8
Size: 1 foot tall and up to 1.5 feet wide
Where to buy: Get a 1-gallon potted Ivory Prince Christmas Rose at Plant Addicts for $49.99
11. Winter Jasmine (Jasminum nudiflorum)
Winter jasmine is a vining shrub that will treat you with bursts of fragrant yellow flowers between late winter and early spring; the plant’s flowers often are the first to appear as winter wraps up. But even when not in bloom, this plant’s large arching stems will provide plenty of visual interest to the garden. Hardy and easy to grow, winter jasmine is just at home in coastal areas as it is along rock walls.
USDA plant hardiness zone: 6 to 10
Size: up to 10 feet tall and 6 feet wide
Where to buy: Get a 1-gallon pot of Winter Jasmine at The Home Depot for $25.58
12. Witch Hazel (Hamamelis virginiana)
Known for its medicinal properties, witch hazel is often used in cosmetics and lotions, since it is reported to reduce inflammation and soothe certain skin irritations. It’s also a great choice for a winter garden, thanks to its fragrant yellow-to-red flowers that can bloom even in snowy weather. This adaptable shrub or small tree thrives in full sun to partial shade.
USDA plant hardiness zone: 3 to 7
Size: 3 to 6 feet tall and wide
Where to buy: Get a 1- to 2-foot high Witch Hazel at TN Nursery for $26.99
13. Snowberry (Symphoricarpos albus)
Named for its small clusters of white berries that put on a show throughout the winter and give way to little white flowers in the spring, the snowberry plant provides a valuable food source for birds during the cold winter months. This easy-care plant will spread as a dense thicket, so it’s a great choice for borders and living fences.
USDA plant hardiness zone: 3 to 9
Size: more than 15 feet tall and wide
Where to buy: Get a 1-gallon potted White Snowberry at The Home Depot for $38.04
14. Sweet Box (Sarcococca hookeriana var. digyna)
Featuring dark green glossy leaves, sweet box plants are shade-loving evergreen shrubs that boast small fragrant flowers that bloom in late winter and early spring. Once the fragrant flowers fade, little black fruits will appear in their wake. Preferring partial to full shade, sweet box plants are tough and excellent year-round plants to add interest to the garden.
USDA plant hardiness zone: 6 to 8
Size: up to 2 feet high and 4 feet wide
Where to buy: Get a 1-gallon Fragrant Dwarf Sweet Box at Planting Partners on Etsy for $28.99
15. Winter Heath (Erica darleyensis)
For a vibrant splash of color in warmer zones, plant winter heath in your yard, which will repay you with abundant tiny pink winter flowers that bloom in late winter through early spring. The colorful winter shrub is an even hardier version of E. carnea, and both are commonly used as a ground cover, forming a dense mat. Prune it right after it finishes flowering in the spring to prevent leafless stems and keep it looking great all year.
USDA plant hardiness zone: 6 to 8
Size: up to 2 feet high and wide
Where to buy: Get a quart-size potted Erica Kramer’s Red Winter Heath at The Home Depot for $18.53
16. American Cranberry Bush (Viburnum trilobum)
This deciduous shrub’s large size creates a show-stopping garden accent. In mid- to late fall, the American cranberry bush will burst with vibrant red berries that last into winter. The berries are edible but aren’t very tasty when eaten raw. However, they provide important winter food for wildlife. Fragrant while flowers appear in spring and persist through mid summer. The shrub thrives in full or partial sun and prefers alkaline soil.
USDA plant hardiness zone: 2 to 7
Size: 8 to 12 feet high and wide
Where to buy: Get a 3-gallon Bailey Compact American Cranberry Bush at Plant Addicts for $73.99
17. Russian Sage (Salvia yangii)
Also known as Perovskia, Russian sage is popular for its tall blue-violet flowers that bloom in the summer through the fall, attracting all sorts of pollinators to the garden. However, this shrub looks great in the winter, too, thanks to long silvery stems that offer structure and intrigue to a winter landscape. Leave the faded flower stems on until new growth appears in spring and plant Russian sage along walkways to maximize enjoyment of its fragrant flowers in summer. Once established, it is a drought-tolerant shrub.
USDA plant hardiness zone: 5 to 9
Size: up to 4 feet high and wide
Where to buy: Get a 3-inch potted Lacey Blue Russian Sage at American Meadows for $7.99
18. American Wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens)
Also known as Eastern teaberry, American wintergreen features glossy evergreen leaves and bright red berries that will offer a beautiful contrast to a wintery white landscape. Like many winter outdoor plants, this shrub helps small mammals and birds who love the berries. It is disease-resistant, and crushing its leaves will release a refreshing wintergreen scent. Plant the showy low grower in dappled sunlight to deep shade to keep it happy.
USDA plant hardiness zone: 3 to 7
Size: less than 1 foot high and up to 1 foot wide
Where to buy: Get 6 bare root Teaberry Wintergreen plants at New Hampshire Plants on Etsy for $9.99
19. Soapweed Yucca (Yucca glauca)
Yucca glauca is among the most winter-hardy yucca varieties. Its attractive evergreen foliage features long narrow stems in a rosette shape that look great all year long. In the spring, a stem rises from the rosette that features white bell-shaped flowers. These flowers attract butterflies, and the entire easy-care yucca plant provides food and nesting opportunities for small mammals, birds, and reptiles.
USDA plant hardiness zone: 4 to 8
Size: 3 to 4 feet high and wide
Where to buy: Get a 5-inch pot of Soapweed Yucca at Etsy for $24.75
20. Bearberry (Cotoneaster dammeri)
This low-growing shrub features glossy dark green leaves that turn bronze in the fall, persisting through the winter. During the winter you’ll also be treated to the shrub’s remaining vivid red berries, which provide a valuable food source for birds. The berries arise from tiny white flowers that form in the spring and summer, which butterflies love. Plant it in full sun to watch it thrive, though the shrub can handle partial shade.
USDA plant hardiness zone: 5 to 8
Size: 1 foot high and 4 to 6 feet wide
Where to buy: Get a 1-gallon Bearberry Cotoneaster Coral Beauty at Plants Express for $17.95
The prices listed here are accurate as of publication on November 3, 2026.
