Ideas for Winter Containers

As I was walking through my neighborhood enjoying the last of the summer flowers that seem to be thriving in the warm fall - I noticed that most of the containers I passed were either empty or full of dead plants and weeds. Most container gardeners seem to have given up for the season.

The only container with anything in it was full of plastic flowers. The same plastic flowers that have been in that container all summer. The same plastic flowers that will be in that container, even under the snow, all winter.

So what's the alternative to plastic flowers in a city where it's too cold to keep anything alive in a container without wrapping it in so much burlap that it loses it's aesthetic appeal?

Here are a few ideas...

The wreath approach: Use evergreen branches, pine cones, dried flowers, dried herbs, etc. and pile them in a container. (Invest in some gold spray paint for that gilded Martha Stewart look.)

Zen Garden: Pour some sand, get a few rocks and a little rake and create a little rock garden.

Thanksgiving harvest: Create a cornucopia with dried corn stalks, gourds, blue corn. Throw in a little scarecrow for good measure.

Fake trees: Plant a fake mini-Christmas tree - a seasonally appropriate alternative to fake flowers.

Grasses: Some ornamental grasses are actually quite lovely if left in the container for winter after they've turned brown. You'll just need to plan ahead and grow them in summer so you'll have them around when you need them.

I'm sure there are lots of other ways to keep using your containers outside as a decorative addition, instead of an empty reminder of the passing of summer. Use your imagination, and put those plastic flowers away.

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