Leaves are lovely, but winter reminds us that bark is beautiful

During the growing season, tree and shrub leaves steal the show, but this time of year I always rediscover the beauty of bark.

With the loss of leaves, the Kentucky coffeetree shows off its bold skeleton and rough, scaly bark. A large shade tree ideally suited to growing in the Midwest, it needs no pampering after its first year.

I admire the smooth, gray, beechlike bark of the American yellowwood, a mid-sized tree that's ideal for smaller yards.

A mature sycamore tree never escapes notice in winter, thanks to its impressive mottled white bark. A huge tree, the sycamore is a good candidate only for larger properties. But just about any yard has room for an American hornbeam, which boasts a smooth, slate-gray bark and fluted trunk. Tough and long-lived, this small tree thrives in the shade of taller trees.

Trees with peeling bark are especially eye-catching. Birches are the most familiar, with river birch the easiest to grow in this region. Heritage river birch offers an especially attractive lighter bark that is a mixture of cream and salmon. Where there's room for only a small tree, a dwarf river birch named Little King is a good fit.

A small ornamental tree called the seven-son-flower tree also has beautiful bark that peels to reveal a light tan bark beneath the darker outer bark.

One of my husband's favorite trees is the dawn redwood. Its beautiful reddish-brown, scaly bark grabs attention after its needles fall. With age, its bark peels in long strips.

Maples are well-represented in any list of trees that have beautiful bark. The most famous is the paperbark maple, a small, slow-growing tree with stunningly handsome, peeling, cinnamon-colored bark.

Snakebark varieties such as manchustripe maple show off with green and white striped bark. The three-flowered maple has golden peeling bark.

Lacebark pine is hard to beat, with its flaky bark that creates a colorful patchwork of gray, green, purple and white.

Shrubs are also well represented among the woody plants that have colorful bark. Red- and yellow-stemmed dogwoods can really light up a winter landscape.

So do some of the shrubby willows, such as one called Flame that has orange or red bark. Its unusual curling branch tips add to the show.

I can't help but smile when I walk past my Japanese kerria in late fall or winter. Its bright green stems add a welcome splash of color on a dreary day.