Bones are on my mind. Not the ones in our body or those we give the dog, but the bones that add form to our gardens in all seasons.

In landscaping lingo, bones are structures such as walls, arbors and benches as well as evergreen shrubs and trees that remain the same no matter what the season. Bones are as attractive under a blanket of snow as they are as a backdrop for colorful perennials and annuals.

About 30 to 40 percent of the much-admired landscape at the Dixon Gallery and Gardens is planted with evergreens, said Diane Reed, manager of horticulture at the Dixon.

"If you took away the evergreens, the winter landscape would be bland," Reed told about 20 people joining her recently for a "winter beauty" tour of the gardens.

Boxwood and hollies are important components of the mix of evergreens.

"There's a boxwood for every situation," said Reed, who will be a speaker at the American Boxwood Society's annual symposium held here May 11-13. This is a prestigious event for Memphis to land because the boxwood devotees typically meet in Virginia.

These prized tiny-leafed evergreens can be full and billowy; short and round or tall and skinny.

Hollies also come in many sizes and shapes and some have the added advantage of producing winter eye-candy in the form of red, orange or yellow berries.

But hollies need quite a bit of sun to thrive. If you have a shady garden, Reed suggests using Florida anise tree or Illicium floridanum. It grows 6 to 10 feet tall and about as wide. Its leaves have a pungent but pleasing fragrance when crushed in the hand.

Dwarf evergreens are effectively used in containers throughout the property at the Dixon. Dwarf osmanthus, which resembles holly, is planted with dwarf mondo grass, which also remains green throughout the winter.

Another evergreen, the dwarf Japanese cedar Nana, gets an urn all to itself. I also was taken with how effective extra curly parsley is at the base of evergreens in containers. The cooks amongst us would have
to guard against ruining the design by clipping it to garnish plates and add fresh herbal flavors to dishes.

Evergreen ground covers such as a velvety carpet of moss and a bed of English ivy are also winter gems.

"People have mixed feelings about ivy, but it looks great in the winter," Reed said. Because it wants to climb up anything and everything, the staff at the Dixon work diligently at cutting it back.

In its winter nakedness, the dogwood's craggy bark is a texture to appreciate. Michael Dirr describes it as "reminiscent of an alligator's back," is his "Manual of Woody Landscape Plants."

Harry Lauder's Walking Stick, a deciduous shrub with contorted braches, is like a living sculpture in the winter landscape, Reed said.

Other plants of interest in the late February early March garden are Lenten helleborous, perky daffodils, winter honeysuckle and mahonia - an evergreen with yellow flowers now.