Winter Decorating Tips for Containers

If you have been into Cobblestone Gardens & Market lately, you probably can smell the season in the air.  Balsam fir, incense cedar, and juniper scents have filled the building.  Decorating for the season is fun, easy and really gets me into the holiday spirit.  Let’s talk inside, outside, boughs, and more!  Today we will focus on containers.

Spruce Tips.  Containers on your doorstep, window boxes on the front of your house or even annual beds in your landscape are great places to showcase spruce tips.  Spruce tips come in three sizes, small (1′ tall) - great for window boxes, medium (2′-3′ tall) – perfect for most containers and large (4′-5′ tall) - best used as trees in your landscape or as the center in large containers.  In order for spruce tips to stay green it is best to trim their ends and add water to the soil, this way they can take up some moisture and eventually freeze into place (this will happen as soon as the weather turns cold).

Evergreen Boughs.  Boughs are probably the most versatile decorating option for the holiday season.  You can use a little or a lot and they go a long way.  They come in long needles, like Norway or White pine.  They are available in short needle like shore pine, or feathery cedar in Port Orford, coned or incense.  Don’t forget a touch of salal, oregonia or huck.  These leafy options give your decor a different texture.

Branches.  Branches come in different heights, diameters, and colors.  Birch branches are generally brown and look as though they were plucked from nature (mostly because they were), they give a natural look.  Dogwood is mostly found in reds and yellows, both natural but giving your arrangement a pop of color and height.  Curly willow is usually green or orange and just like it’s name says, it gives a curly texture.  Birch poles are usually large branches with their birch paper making a bold white statement in your decor.  Use any of these to add height to your container or centerpiece.

Pine Cones.  These too come in many sizes.  Sugar cones are the largest, followed by Jeffrey cones, which are about the size of a man’s fist and then there are the ponderosa cones, which are pretty average in size.  Pine Cones add another element of design with color and texture.  Paint them gold or white for even more options.

Embellishments.  Where do I start?  There are so many great things you can add to your designs to make them stand-out and to give them personality.  Seed pots, hydrangea blooms, balls (used for decorating your Christmas tree), ornaments, berry picks, ribbon, bows and so much more.  Use your creativity and add a personal touch.

Tips.  It is great to get your containers planted before the soil freezes!  Remember if you have glazed pots it is best to put them away during the winter, otherwise the freezing and thawing can crack them.  If you soil appears to be frozen solid I would add some HOT water to it and that helps loosen it up.  I use a product called Wilt Stop by Bonide to spritz all of my evergreen boughs, spruce tips and other greenery.  This keeps them looking fresh all season long.