This Year's Christmas Containers

My outdoor Christmas Containers were rather varied this year.

....From making some for retail:

Even though I have been making these for ages, I never tire of it (until you make the 50th + :) !  The best part about making these, the choices for accents and greenery are always lush and full.

Yet they come with a price. The materials do cost quite a bit. Unless you have a wholesale savings option.

.....To making some personally for us:

I made a conscious decision to keep reusing accent materials and finding sustainable resources for greenery.  All the accents were reused from several years worth of collecting.

I clipped Sumac Pods from the roadside, Dogwood stems, Yew bush and Juniper clippings from our property.  The rest are all accents purchased years ago. The birch stems are from a tree we lost two years ago to Cytospora canker :(  At least we can benefit from using its branches well after the tree has been taken down.

I even saved thin stems from the birch to add to even this smaller door greeter and tiny cast iron urn below...

For the tiny cast iron urn, I made a square frame from (4 bound together) small birch stems and placed it on the rim of the urn and just layered some cones and boxwood clippings in between.

For these next two (below), I actually bought some artificial boughs.  My front area by the garage is in full sun for the entire afternoon and facing north. Evergreen boughs just brown out by January; no matter how much snow I heap on top to melt.  I decided to try artificial boughs and plan to reuse them time and again to keep the planter green.

Here's one I made for work below. I gathered Teasel dried seed pods.  You can find Teasel seed heads everywhere in Southern Ontario.  You could easily spray paint them different colours for a bit more impact. Just be careful handling them. They are prickly!

If you have a hard time coming up with inexpensive live green choices, my neighbour had a fantastic idea.  She went to the local grocery store and saw fresh cut Fraser Fir Christmas trees for $20.  Great deal.  She brought one tree home and then cut all the boughs from the entire tree and managed to make 4 containers worth.  Saving her a bundle!  Isn't that a great idea?!!!

What ever you do.... be creative and enjoy the process! If you're new to making them, here's a post I made a while back on the step-by-step DIY.

Merry Christmas!

A Little Fun With Christmas Greens

We are lucky here in Southern Ontario. Frosts have been minimal and it has allowed me to make decorative evergreen creations outside a little later than usual. Mid December, the container medium is usually frozen.

I've held off this long, simply because there is nothing more frustrating than having evergreen boughs brown before Christmas. Too early and it is a shame - really a waste and a lot of work for nothing.

Similar to last year's - but with less greens.

I acquired some twigs and such from a friend who was discarding them. Hey - "reuse as much as you can", I say. Waste diversion is a good thing and what others toss away can bring you more joy in creating different designs like this one:

For others, I created these favourites:

Looking for some books at the thrift store, I found this metal envelop hanging container. It's a great door greeter! Add some greens, natural bits and voila - a really festive front welcoming decoration. Who needs a wreath?

I stuck with the same design for this rectangular planter as I did last year. It works, the mail carrier doesn't complain! Simple. Nearly all the accents were saved from 2 years ago!  

Whatever you do....DON'T THROW OUT the TINY BITS!  Bring them indoors. (Leave them in your shed or garage and bring them indoors closer to the time you begin entertaining). Add a bit of greens to your mantle, your dinner table or like me: my piano.

Hint: once you bring in evergreen cuttings, be aware: sap exudes from the fresh cuts. Select bits that aren't sticky.

I dab off the sap from the fresh cut ends on a paper towel and let them sit a while (about 10 minutes) prior to arranging. 

DO NOT PLACE THESE FRESH CUTS DIRECTLY ON YOUR FURNITURE. They will cause sticky drips and ruin your wooden finish. Not to worry, there is a solution: add something beneath. Like a paper plate, or place them on an extra charger plate, or better yet, cut a piece of plastic to the right size and place beneath. How easy is that.

This was a plastic sheet packaging for calendar. I cut it into a circle, large enough for my cone arrangement. Tucking it under the cones, I then...

...wedged and arranged the cuttings just so. Cover all the unsightly bits.

Evergreen cuttings jazz up silk flowers perfectly.

Above all, be creative. Your home will smell amazingly festive and it will bring an inviting environment to help unite the folks you love.

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas!

Natural Outdoor Winter (Container) Urn Design

Frosty nights and cold days damage what ever is left of fall planters. Right now, garden centres and florists are fully stocked with evergreen boughs and accents. Time to get designing, and get your planters ready before the soil is too frozen solid to work. Selection is usually best by the end of November, so don't miss out. If you're worried it's too early, don't - you can always store the boughs in a garage or shed until you design closer to Christmas. However, be forewarned regarding your soil. It may be too frozen to work or empty.

Here are two natural winter urn inserts:

Here I used a mixture of birch stems, dogwood, white pine, western cedar, douglas fir, oregonia, magnolia, seeded eucalyptus, glittered rattan balls, glittered seed pods, birch lollies, and pine cones.

I enjoy using white tipped pine cones with birch stems. It blends in nicely with each other and looks even better with snow.

The container here is a 10" fibre pot filled with sand. Sturdy, easy to pop into any existing decorative container.

Please check out my other designs!

Outdoor Christmas Container - Large Planter

I have the privilege to decorate the containers outside of my church. 

Because these concrete "bowls" are so large (diameter is just under 3 feet), they can take a lot of product which can run rather expensive and can become a huge project if you don't take that into consideration.

Our church has a high volume of traffic, and having learned over the years, here are a few reasons why I make them more simple: a) won't make it too attractive to tug and pull out greens and the accents, b) won't make it into a waste basket for litter and c) cost effective.

I actually like that the greens aren't covering the birch stems. They really stand out and when the snow falls, it dusts the greens beautifully!

I used for each container:

2 scotch pine boughs (14lb bundle)
2 western red cedar boughs (8lb bundle)
2 boxwood bunches (8lb bundle)
10 glittered vine balls
5 silver dipped dried seed pods
2 bunches of red dogwood stems
6 stems of birch branches

Again, I just cut back the annuals that were growing in these containers and removed the worst of the thick stems. Instead of inserting the evergreen stems upright into the soil, I just inserted them horizontally. The dogwood helps the birch stay in place and the boxwood covers all the end bits that I used to fill the empty spaces.

Outdoor Christmas Container - Little Fun

My colleagues call this one I made - "the galaxy".  lol :) We try to get a bit more creative with each one.

When you have access to great product, you get a little more inventive. Using outdoor ornaments (which tolerate frost and don't crack or have styrofoam burst overwinter) can add a burst of colour when dried accents start to fade. Plus, the outdoor ornaments catch the light, especially at night making your urns pop out a bit more in the dark.

Here I added sprays of lime metallic Christmas balls and one bronze ball, suspended between the birch stems. Fun.

Plant World has an array of styles, made by several designers. Come stop by!  If you want to make one yourself, we can help you too!

Outdoor Christmas Urn Container - One Sided

Here I made a Christmas Urn Design that is one sided.

One bonus to making one sided Christmas urns: less material is needed. With this design, all the accents are on one side, making a bolder view from the front. You use less materials and yet have the effect of seeing all the accents from the street.  They are easier to make and faster to assemble. Great for urns that are situated next to the front door or garage - where the containers are right up against a wall/door.

Accents:

• magnolia stems
• red dyed strobus cones
• red dyed nut
• spray of outdoor Christmas balls
• red twig dogwood

Boughs:

• white pine
• western cedar
• silver fir 
• oregonia (variegated boxwood)

Try it!  All materials are available at Plant World.

Outdoor Christmas Urn Container - Natural

Here I made a pair of urns with natural items.

These urns span about 2 and 1/2 feet apart. A little more than 3 feet tall from the pot rim.

I used:

Have a look at some other designs here

• 3 birch stems
• 7 stems of dogwood
• white pine
• douglas fir
• western red cedar
• boxwood
• magnolia stems
• sumac seed pods
• seeded eucalyptus
• strobus (white pine) cones
• dried belani seed pods
• bronze vine balls
• dried bell cups
• 13" fibre liner
• sand to fill pot

Another pair:

These accents may look all natural, but the pomegranates are artificial.  Pretty good for artificial though. No squirrels will try to take these away! 

One of the funnest aspects of my job.

 In the above, I used:

• pomergranates
• strobus cones (with snow flakes)
• magnolia
• birch stems
• dogwood stems
• white pine boughs
• western red cedar boughs
• Ontario hemlock boughs
• burgundy seed pods
• oregonia

Materials all from Plant World Ltd. These urns are also available there. 

Outdoor Winter Container Designs

The first couple of frost hits is the sign to prepare for winter containers.

Some folks empty out their containers - soil and all to prepare for Christmas decorating. No, no.... I just snip off the tops of my annuals and the leggy stem bits that are left after a good frost. The soil with roots, as long as it's not frozen and not too woody, is an ideal medium to sustain evergreen boughs and cut stems for decorating.  If the soil has become frozen, bring it indoors overnight to thaw, or drench with boiling water to thaw out. The roots of your annuals help stabilize cut stems in place, when arranging.

 

Like the above demonstration class; if you're starting from scratch and you don't want to fill an entire urn or container, (or you can't keep a ceramic pot with soil overwinter) just use a smaller insert pot and fill with sand. In the above photo, we used 6-9inch fibre liners. When filled with sand, the sheer weight of sand will help to prop up the insert and will also freeze like an ice cube when in your decorative outer pot. Two great aspects regarding a smaller container: 1) the smaller the pot, the less materials needed and 2) the tighter the stems will be to withstand strong winter weather.

Materials needed:

• Pair of sharp pruners

• Comfortable pair of gloves that allow you to design with good tactile ability

• If you are working indoors, wear a bib or apron to avoid sap from coming in contact with your clothes

• At least 2-3 selections of evergreen boughs. (my preference is white pine, western cedar and boxwood, although you can use any kind).  For a 6 inch pot, 3 bundles will do.

• Leafy stems (magnolia, eucalyptus, boxwood, oregonia, holly, euonymus). 2 bundles ea.

• Colourful branches (dogwood, red willow, pussy-willow, birch stems, alder stems) 20 stems.

• Accent pieces: (cones, pomegranates, osage oranges, rose-hips, sumac pods, outdoor ornaments...etc). Minimum 7-10 pieces

•  If you are working with an insert, use sand and dampen it well enough to make sure it stays firm and holds moisture for the stems

To begin, decide on how decorative you want the urn. Sometimes, simpler is more attractive. Too much material and it becomes an eyesore. Here in the photo below, it seemed fitting to have a simple design given the ravine backdrop.

Here, I only used 3 items (white pine, red dogwood and some ivy).

Next, decide on the shape, height and position of your insert/container design. One trick to lessen the material used, is to design a flat sided container. These are great for containers that are propped up against a wall or backing on to something else. Accents and more expensive materials only need to be displayed at the front of these designs. You will need almost triple the amount of accents if you want a 360, all around arrangement.

Begin with the tallest boughs at the back, working and cutting your bough branches down slightly in size as you come to the front of the container. Be sure to make a fresh cut on ALL your bough branches. This allows the boughs to draw up whatever moisture they can during the winter - keeping them green.

With all around designs, you need to start with the tallest material (usually your stems, like dogwood) in the center. Working your way around the stems with filler - evergreen boughs. Once you get a sort of triangular shape, begin adding your accents to bulk up the design.

Pretty easy.

Water your urn inserts and or planters once every week. It may seem odd to water them in the winter, but it just maintains the green and keeps them looking fresh.

Here is a design from last year.

Check out these other designs

More here and here!

More outdoor creations

These are the few little outdoor winter containers that I made for my little space.

Much of what I used here, are left overs from year after year. I save cones, birch branches, artificial berries and those seed pod cups. Don't throw them away! Just tuck them in your garage, shed, basement (wherever you can) in a container. Be sure you dry them all out before storing, or use a container that has good air circulation.

I used seeded eucalyptus (above urns), and with the leftovers I added it to one of my metal bowls and put a candle in it. Simple. Seeded eucalyptus dries and it's such a great addition to your Christmas decor!

Winter Outdoor Creations

One of the most delightful aspects of winter is Christmas decorating. I have the pleasure of creating some wonderful work with what nature provides.

Below is one of the urn insert designs I made this winter. With the use of outdoor Christmas ornaments and birch branches, I think this is a great way to liven up a winter container that otherwise would be bare over the cold winter months. 

I've had great pleasure in demonstrating how to do these inserts with a ladies group at church. So much fun!  Try it yourself.

All you need is a thawed out container filled with sand or garden soil, evergreen boughs, twigs of dogwood or coloured stems, birch branches, cones, plastic ornaments, dried flower arranging material that can be used outdoors and some imagination!   Trust me, the more you do of these, the better you get!

Birch Ball Winter Container

• White pine boughs
• BC Cedar boughs
• White pine cones
• Magnolia Stems
• Oregonia (variegated boxwood)
• Curly Red Willow
• Christmas Ornaments (bronze, gold, yellow gold)
• Shelled India Nut (dried beige nut)

Please see my other post on winter containers.