YORKTON – Guess what, gardeners. There are fewer than forty days till Christmas. I know, I can’t believe it either.
But as gardeners, we can create something special for the outdoors: an outdoor holiday container!
It is wonderful to see outdoor ‘horticultural’ containers for the holiday season. They take holiday decorating one step further than Christmas lights. They’re fun to create, and easy to do using what you have on hand.
The first thing is to choose a container, and so even if you thought that the containers were put away till next spring, head out to the shed and choose one to use for this project. We need a container that is of good weight, (not clay or ceramic, just in case) so that a wild December wind won’t send it sailing! Also, a practical tip, choose a container that will match the amount of material you have available or are willing to purchase! Makes everything more streamlined.
You can anchor your various stems and branches in soil, sand, or floral foam. But always bear in mind that once your put soil or sand in your container, you have to do your creating before you take the planter outside for any length of time and the soil freezes! Foam is more forgiving if you are not using any live material.
Next, gather your materials. Let your imagination go and have fun. You might want to go for a homespun look and use all natural materials, like birch stems, clumps pf grasses, and finer branches for an airy look. Create big bows or winding ribbons of burlap, and finish off with large pinecones wired in. Remember, everything has to be anchored and secure against the wind!
We’ll chat about this next thing briefly: you might want to use real spruce or cedar branches, but this requires some extra planning because of our freezing temperatures. Live greenery should be allowed to take a good long drink in a pail of water indoors for a few hours, then anchored in wet floral foam. Then incorporate this in your container. Remember, once you have done this and take your container outside to its display spot, the foam will freeze, the stems will freeze in the foam, and the greenery can’t be watered again. It will only last so long, so don’t work too far ahead if you want this display for the holidays.
But if that all sounds like more effort that you want to expend, relax. You can make a beautiful container using faux spruce branches mixed with natural twigs and branches, and it will be perfectly lovely, and a lot more user-friendly to assemble. It is good to have the heavier-looking material at the bottom, a skirt of spruce boughs, then have the branches and twigs rising up from that. If you want to add a unique pop of color, paint some of your twigs. I have used bright red, peacock blue and lime green in various containers: the stems look so interesting, and it is so easy!
Once you have your twigs and branches in place, it’s time to add the finishing touches, like large glittering holiday balls, faux poinsettias, holiday figurines, twig stars or wreaths, or glittering stems or berries. Or not! Anything goes, it’s your creation, and can be as easy and relaxed as you like. One nice thing about using branches and faux materials, you can make your container now in the comfort of your garage and then bring it out whenever you are ready.
This is a project where there are no rules except to have fun and make the container your own creation. Enjoy! Thank you to our friends at YTW for their fine work. Visit the Hort society at www.yorktonhort.ca and have a great week!
