Many folks just empty their plant containers for the winter months and let them sit idle until warm weather beckons. Why not keep them looking good and visually appealing by creating a winter container garden?
There are a number of choices available that can bring color and interest to your doorstep during the coldest of spells … and best of all they can last until spring arrives.
Don’t just craft your containers for the holidays. Sure you can stick a jolly Santa or red-nosed reindeer in temporarily, but try filling them with displays that look great and add winter interest for the duration of the cold months.
Plant Ideas For Winter Containers
Colorful shrub branches such as red twig dogwood and yellow twig dogwood bring much needed hues and structure to your sleeping garden.
Combine these with some snippets of berry-producing shrubs such as highbush cranberry, barberry, rose hips, flowering crabapples and other shrubs and small trees for a beautiful pop of winter color.
For texture, add a variety of colorful evergreens. Junipers that come in gold, blue and silver make a delightful winter scene, along with golden arborvitae, Colorado blue spruce and berry-producing yews.
Think Outside The Evergreen Box
Tufts of snow that form upon the seed heads of perennials such as sedum, coneflowers, hydrangeas, goldenrod, asters and others bring a form and grace all their own to containers. I’ve seen people spray paint the seed heads in various natural or abstract colors for a fun and attention-grabbing arrangement.
Create stunning winter container displays by inserting pretty, exfoliating birch tree branches, grapevine wreaths and spheres, large pinecones, eucalyptus, and even fruit such as red & green apples to the mix.
A note about containers: Use one made of plastic, metal, resin, or concrete. If you use ceramic or terra cotta, it could crack if the soil has water in it and freezes. Also consider using different types of containers such as old wheelbarrows, wagons, or whiskey barrels for interesting arrangements.
Tips For Attractive Winter Containers
1. Use several different types of evergreens in your containers. Spruce and pine are fine and reliable, but other evergreens can add different colors, textures and fragrance to your creation.
2. Don’t use potting soil, use topsoil for winter containers. Topsoil is heavier so it does a much better job of holding evergreen and other stems upright. Hill the soil before placing the branches and they should freeze in place.
3. Inject some fun and personality! Make it your own artwork by adding berries, small birdhouses, pinecones, natural grass ribbons and other interesting nature-inspired materials. Heck you can throw some glitter in the mix if you feel like it. Add a bunny or squirrel tchotchke. Lots of possibilities besides only using evergreens.
4. Spray your display with Wilt-Pruf. This helps keep it from drying out and lasting until spring. A few branches may turn brown, but the majority should be looking good through March.
Have fun with your winter containers and be creative! Remember these beautiful container displays are not just for the holidays. You can leave them standing all winter long for a lovely and welcoming winter scene.
