Susan Messenger, a Holeman’s maintenance crew chief, carefully prunes branches of a deciduous holly to go with greenery for a client’s winter containers. Photo courtesy Jo Ellen Meyers Sharp
If there’s anything that keeps outdoor winter arrangements fresh, it’s that the greenery is as fresh as it can be.
That’s what you get when a Holeman professional pots up your outdoor container with spruce, arborvitae, cedars, hollies and other winter greenery. The pros cut many evergreen and holly branches from the Holeman nursery for clients’ containers. Talk about fresh!
Most greenery at garden centers comes from the Pacific Northwest. Some comes from Michigan. Holly, huckleberry, juniper, pine and other greenery branches are harvested several weeks, if not months, before they are shipped to the retailer. This is what most people use because they do not have ready access to a plant nursery or forest. For best results with this greenery, snip off the ends before placing the branches in the arrangement, and it will last a very long time.
If you have evergreens or hollies in your landscape, it’s fine to snip a few branches, but sparingly. You want to make sure you don’t distort the form of the plant. Other plants in the garden also can do double duty in winter containers.
Seasonal Beauty, Greenery from the Garden
Red-stem dogwood branches and dried hydrangea flowers work well in winter arrangements. Photo courtesy Susan Messenger/Mark M. Holeman
The dried flowers of hydrangeas, especially ‘Annabelle’ types (H. arborescens), and panicles, such as Limelight (H. paniculata), can be snipped and used in their natural colors this time of year mixed with the greenery. Or, spray-paint the flowers red, white, gold, silver or other color to compliment the container, front door or trim on the house.
A few branches of seed heads from a prolific rose of Sharon shrub (Hibiscus syriacus) can be spray painted, too. They look like strands of ball-like ornaments.
Branches from red- or yellow-stem dogwoods add colorful height to a container, as do branches of river birch (Betula nigra). Birch branches also can be spray-painted. Adding a faux sprig of frosty pine cones or holly, or plastic ornaments can carry the container through the season.
Holeman does other winter decorating in the landscape, too. Crews string lights on trees, shrubs, rooflines, gutters and other structures in the landscape. They hang wreaths on doors, run garlands along fences and add other seasonal, festive decoration.
Tips to Decorate the Landscape with Lights and Greenery
“And of course, lots of outdoor winter pots. We probably do this more than anything,” said Rich Blankenship, president of Mark M. Holeman Inc. Some tips from Rich when considering outdoor holiday lighting and decorating:
- Make sure to have adequate outdoor electrical outlets. You want those that can handle the load of several light strands with out taxing the circuit breaker.
- Electrical outlets should be conveniently located. If lighting trees and shrubs in the landscape, outlets should be in or near those beds. You don’t want to run miles of extension cords through the landscape.
- Newer homes usually have outdoor outlets, but older homes may not. Hire an electrician to install the outlets so they are ready when outdoor decorating time comes.
- Make arrangements early to get your winter pots done and lights strung.