Traditionally the garden in our climate is ignored in winter. There is no reason that it should be. The winter garden should give us as much pleasure as the garden in the other three seasons of the year. It's true, but it is a different garden; one that is viewed from a window rather than one we occupy and use. As result it is a less intimate garden.

Bloom is scarce, though not completely absent, making the winter garden one of form, pattern and texture rather than color. The winter garden is smaller than the summer garden because it encompasses only the areas visible from our favorite windows and the entrance area to our home.

Native trees and shrubs are the proper plant forms for the winter garden. They have adapted to our climate and require no special care to survive. There is no way to make a shrub attractive that must be wrapped in burlap to survive the winter.

Trees should be selected for their branch structure and the texture of their bark so that when the leaves fall they retain their visual interest. The pattern of the trunk and branches silhouetted against the winter sky can be as exciting as blossoms in the summer. The play of light and shadow on rough textured bark is part of the pleasure of a winter garden.

Evergreens provide mass and color, and with one notable exception, should be part of every winter garden. The exception is the rhododendron. This broad-leafed evergreen is an impressive plant in the other three seasons of the year, but it is not a plant to be viewed from a window on a cold, windy day. As the weather gets colder and windier, the leaves roll tighter and give the rhododendron a scrawny, forlorn look that adds nothing to the view.

Evergreen hedges can be used to protect the garden from wind and from unsightly neighboring gardens. Depending upon zoning ordinances, evergreen hedges may be the only effective winter screening permitted in your yard. Hedges also trap leaves better than walls and fences and prevent their blowing across your garden as the wind changes direction.

To give a garden form you must fill it with definite shapes. These shapes need not all be plant forms. Walls, fences, gazebos, sculptures and stones may provide form and accent to the winter garden.

Winter gardens, just as summer gardens, require a focal point. In a small garden separated from neighboring properties by deciduous plants, the focal point helps to keep you from looking into the next-door yards which may come into view when the leaves fall.

Can you have blooms in the winter garden? The answer is a qualified yes. The earliest blooming plants available to us are the hellebores. The most widely known of these is the Christmas Rose. They are not as easy to grow as the magazine ads would have you believe nor do they bloom through the snow. However, given care, a good location and a mild winter they may bloom for Christmas. Following dependably in February and March are the snowdrops and the winter aconite.

Witch hazel is an early blooming shrub or small tree with yellow, fragrant flowers. Depending upon the variety, witch hazel blooms in the fall, late winter or early spring. It is the first shrub or tree to bloom.