While the sparkle of the holidays adds the light and magic to front doors, porchscapes, gates, and other focal points that keeps winter’s gloom at bay, think about creating containers with an eye toward interest beyond the holidays.
Here are seven ideas from Monrovia that you can recreate at home. Some are simpler while others require more work and materials. The takeaway here is more about playing with scale and texture. Grab a warm drink, head outside with the clippers, and see what magic you can make.
Since you really can’t move those 300 lb. concrete pots, why not fill them! This one’s super simple (pictured at top) – conifer branches, sprigs of winterberry, red dogwood twigs, pinecones that have been wired onto stakes. Trick here is to fill the pots with sand so branches can stand when placed.
Isn’t this sort of mesmerizing? It’s a potted cut fir tree with natural materials including dried artichokes and pear gourds, dyed eucalyptus, caspia, astilbe seedpods, dried hydrangea blooms and a pinecone garland. Best in a sheltered shot.
Shades of green is always an elegant solution. This pair of footed urns is filled to the max with several types of conifer branches, seeded eucalyptus, magnolia leaves, seed pods and topped with bits of berried branches. Best in a sheltered location.
You probably have most of what you need in the shed! Fill urn with sand, push lantern into the sand to secure, and then wriggle the wired orb over that. Finish with cut conifer branches. Can take snow, but watch for high winds.
So much of the beauty of winter is in the bare branches all around us. Revel in this naked beauty by securing one in a sand-filled pot, top with mood moss (other other natural materials), and then secure glass drops to branches. Best out of high winds.
Storefronts are excellent site for decorating ideas. This large trough has been filled with cut greens, ornamental cabbages (outdoor ornaments would also be good), and sticks of yellow dogwood. The kicker here are the spruce tips (harvested in MN) that form a mini-forest.
This is a case of using what you have with a few embellishments to bring light to the winter season. This evergreen topiary has been decorated with a few fairy lights that echo those above the door. We would add a mulch onto of the top from moss or maybe pinecones.
Image credits: (1) Houzz (2) Midwest Living (3) Pinterest, original source unknown (4) Pith and Vigor (5) Fifth and State (6) Pinterest, original source unknown.
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