Tips for Today
One of the cool things about winter in the northeast is that we can easily see the diverse types of year-round greenery. Most of our evergreens are conifers, which means they have some form of a pinecone. Some of these trees include eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis), eastern red cedar (Juniperus virginiana), eastern white pine (Pinus strobus), balsam fir (Abies balsamea) and red spruce (Picea rubens). There are other non-conifer evergreens, such as holly or boxwood.
You will often see the clubmoss princess pine (Dendrolycopodium obscurum) or ground-shrub checkerberry (Gaultheria procumbens) growing in the understory of woodlands. These two plants are evergreen ground cover.
For ideas about how to include more evergreens around your yard or community, you can find the 2025 Connecticut Native Perennial, Tree, & Shrub Availability List compiled by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Bureau of Natural Resources Wildlife Division and University of Connecticut College of Agriculture, Health, and Natural Resources Department of Extension here.