Got planters on your porch?

Use Containers to Brighten the Winter

Even though you can't be growing petunias and pansies this time of year, that doesn't mean all your outdoor containers have to be packed away until spring.

Filling them with different plants and other natural materials as the seasons change keeps that focal point of seasonal interest going on your porch. In the wintertime, in particular, containers bring a bright spot amidst the cold, dormant landscape.
Here are some tips for keeping porch containers working through the winter.
Less is more. During the winter, there is less competition in the outdoors to draw the eye, so use less for more impact. If you normally have three pots flanking each side of your door, for example, scale back to two filled containers. Or make two large containers and minimize the amount of materials in the other four.

Use fewer items in
secondary pots

Thriller, filler, spiller still applies. Even though the materials may be different in winter, follow the same formula used to combine plants in the growing season. Use a tall element like dogwood branches for thriller, rounded items like dried pods, cones or flowers for filler and a cascading component like evergreens for spiller.

Plan an easy transition from "holiday" to "winter" décor. Many elements like evergreens and pine cones used for holiday décor transition well into simple winter interest. By removing the red bows or glass balls that say, "Merry Christmas," the rest of the container can keep the seasonal interest going until it's time to plant pansies.

Take a sustainable look at your landscape. Many of the components for winter containers might already be in your yard. Create your own scavenger hunt and look for:

• Berries--such as red cotoneaster, blue/green juniper and orange pyracantha
• Cones from evergreen trees and shrubs
• Seed pods and dried plants like yarrow, hydrangea or Echinacea
• Colorful deciduous branches that can be cut such as red-twig dogwood or others with an interesting shape like sumac
• Evergreen branches from trees and shrubs or the lowest branches that came off the Christmas tree when you put it in the stand

If you still need a few more items, the local garden center can supply the rest.

Take time to create your own look that says "winter" and to appreciate the scaled-back ambiance of the winterscape. Sometimes we have to look a little harder this time of year, but Mother Nature has given us much to see and enjoy outdoors.

Tip of the Week reprinted courtesy of Associated Landscape Contractors of Colorado (ALCC) of which Foothills Landscape Maintenance, LLC is a member. ALCC is the only only professional organization for Colorado's landscape contracting industry statewide. Tip of the Week is copyrighted by Associated Landscape Contractors of Colorado and may be forwarded or copied by its members provided proper credit is given to ALCC