The beautiful fall colors are behind us and the winter months are looming. When you look around your garden, do you just see shades of brown? During this season, our gardens often look dead and lackluster. While you can’t bring on the flowers, you can spruce up your porch for the holidays and winter months ahead.

One of my favorite ways to add winter interest to my front porch is to decorate the flower pots with natural and even a few store-bought items. Many of the natural items can last all season long. Follow along as I show you how to create a winter container you can use for your holiday and winter decorating.

Create an Easy Winter Container…

Creating a decorative container for the winter months is pretty simple. Follow these steps to add some winter interest to your porch.

Step # 1… Choose Your Container

The container you choose is the most important part of your easy winter container. The pot must be large enough to hold a variety of branches and sticks. Also, consider what the container is made of. Certain materials can crack if exposed to the freeze/thaw cycle. Terracotta and ceramic containers are more likely to crack and chip when left out during the winter.

Galvanized containers, vintage enamelware, resin pots, wooden barrels, boxes, fiberglass containers and plastic containers can withstand the elements. And if prepared appropriately, you could use ceramic, terracotta or cement containers as well.

Step #2… Prepare the Container

I typically use containers that had plants in them over the summer. If this is what you’re using, there’s not a lot that you need to do to prepare your winter pot. Just remove any debris left in the container. Top off the pot with a bit of soil if the level has dropped. This year, I had to remove some ‘still blooming’ plants in order to clean my containers out. Start with a clean slate.

If you’re using a new container, then you’ll want to fill the container with potting soil. Tamp the soil down so that it can hold the branches in place.

Tips for Large Terracotta or Ceramic Containers

If using a terracotta, ceramic or cement container, line the container first with a large black trash bag. This will help prevent damage to your container from freezing and thawing over the winter. Be sure to put holes in the liner’s bottom for drainage. Then fill the lined container with potting soil. To lighten the weight of very large containers, you can fill the bottom half of your container with packing peanuts or empty plastic water bottles.

Another option is to set a plastic pot inside your terracotta pot. The plastic will prevent the soil from expanding into the terracotta as it freezes. This is what causes damage to the pots. You can also wrap your porous containers with burlap and twine. And finally, elevate your terracotta pots on bricks or stones to improve drainage.

Step #3… Gather Your Supplies

Now comes the fun part. Deciding what you’ll use to fill your containers. If you have a variety of evergreens growing, select 2 to 3 different colors and textures to use in your displays. You can also purchase evergreen branches this time of year from your local garden centers, nurseries, and Christmas tree lots.

I love to forage my garden for as much materials as I need. Keep an eye out for neighbors who are doing some late season pruning as well.

To create a winter container, the premise is the same as a summer container. You want a thriller in the center, filler greens around the thriller and a spiller to dangle over the edge of your flowerpot.

Start first with the thriller. Look for naturally attractive branches that have an upright habit. Here are a few ideas:

• Red or Yellow Twig Dogwood
• Birch Branches
• Birch Logs (2-3 inches across)
• Curly Willow Branches
• Dried Sunflower or Echinacea Branches (with the seed heads still on the plant)
• Wildflower seed heads such as golden rod or teasel

For the filler, you’ll want to gather a variety of bushy evergreen branches such as pine, fir, cedar, or spruce. I also like to include some other types of evergreens such as oregon grape, holly, or vinca. Eucalyptus and magnolia stems also look nice in these containers if available.

For the spiller, look for some evergreens with a draping appearance such as golden cedar, incense cedar, or ivy.

Finally, add embellishments to your containers to dress them up. For a natural look, use pinecones, seed pods, berry branches, and dried flowers such as hydrangeas. For a more festive look, consider adding ornaments, small birds, or other purchased items to your arrangements.

Step #4… Putting it All Together

To create your container, start with the thriller. In the center of your pot, stick an odd number of braches into the soil. Be sure they are firmly ‘planted’ in the dirt. Next, begin filling in around your thriller with the evergreens you gathered. Start with the tallest and stick the branches into the soil, close to your thriller.

Then add another layer of shorter evergreens in front of your taller evergreens. Finally, add the spiller to the front of your container. Examine your container for empty spots. Add in additional branches where needed.

For your finishing touch, tuck in some additional elements, such as pinecones, ornaments, seed pods, or berry branches.

Tips for Creating Easy Winter Containers…

Here are a few things to keep in mind as you make these fun porch pots.

1. Don’t wait until the soil is frozen to create these containers. Once frozen, it’s difficult to push branches into the container.
2. However, if your soil is already frozen, pour a pitcher of hot water into the planter to thaw the soil out. Once the dirt is pliable, quickly create your container before it refreezes.
3. Remove leaves and needles from the bottom of your branches to make it easier to stick into the soil.
4. It’s okay to mix real and faux. If you want a certain look or texture but you don’t have it available, consider using faux. For example, faux magnolia branches and berry branches look as good as the real thing. Just be sure to use items that are normal for winter. Using faux spring flowers wouldn’t be a good option for these winter pots.
5. If your porch pots are placed against the wall, you’ll only need to decorate the front side. If all sides are exposed, then you’ll need enough stems to fill in the pot all the way around.

Variations of the Basic Container…

The basic winter container can be attractive enough to stand on its own. However, you can also include additional items to bring variety to your containers. Here are some ideas for variations to your lovely porch pots.

Lights

Adding twinkle lights to your displays will give your porch some sparkle on the gray days of winter. Weave battery operated light strands among the branches.

Lanterns

Instead of using branches as your thriller, use an outdoor lantern in the center. To elevate the lantern above the evergreens, set it on an upside down pot, a brick or a piece of wood. Just be sure to hide this with your greens.

Evergreen Trees

You can use a live or faux evergreen tree as your centerpiece if available. Start by planting the evergreen in the center of your pot as your thriller. Then fill in with additional evergreens in contrasting colors and textures.

Holiday

For the holidays, use ornaments and bows in your containers to add some festivity to your decor. Some ornaments can stay for the whole season, such as silver ornaments. You could also use citrus fruits in these holiday containers. The fruits won’t last for the whole winter, but they could provide color and interest for the holiday season.

Birdhouses

Use birdhouses as your center display. Then include feathers and faux birds as your embellishments. You could even make birdseed ornaments to add into the display.

Signs

Tuck small holiday or winter signs into the evergreens for a bit of whimsy.

Creating an easy winter container is simple and fun. When you look at your garden and porch, you don’t have to see a drab view. With these simple container ideas, you can create an attractive winter display. And when the excitement of Christmas has died down, you’ll have a container that will bring some joy to you during the long days of winter.

These winter displays don’t have to end with your porch. You can decorate your window boxes and containers in your yard as well. These decorative pots can add pops of color all around your garden. So gather a few supplies from your garden and get started creating your very own easy winter containers.