I always try to do something fun and extra festive for the planters on my porch for the holidays. And hopefully make something that will last LONG past Christmas, so it will be able to stay on the porch throughout the rest of winter.
Around here there's not a lot of prettiness happening in mid-January, so it's sort of nice to pull in the driveway and not have a cold, empty, bleak looking porch staring me in the face.
Last year I made my outdoor planters with traditional greens, birch branches and bright red winterberry.
See How I Made It HERE: How To Make Outdoor Christmas Planters
And the previous year I made my pots with a rustic design with curly willow, pinecones and greenery all "planted" in a peach basket.
See How To Make Your Own HERE: How To Make Winter Porch Pots
NOTE: These types of planters are RIDICULOUSLY EASY to make. You can see a step by step tutorial including a video on my How To Make Winter Porch Pots post!
This year, who knows what I'll come up with eventually, but I have been looking for some new ideas. Here are some that I found that spoke to me.
These MASSIVE planters sure do make a statement.
If I made those I would definitely fill in the bottom with plastic milk jugs or styrofoam to make them a little lighter, because large planters can get pretty heavy.
A similar look is this planter with the birch branches, seed pods, and magnolia leaves. There's even a cute little owl peeking out there.
Not sure if it's "real" frost or just made to look that way, but the muted frosty tones of these planters are gorgeous!
The pop of green berries and seed pods make for a more neutral natural decor look.
These containers themselves are just amazing!!! Throw in the topiaries and the silver and gold accent pieces and they certainly have a festive look.
And who says you have to plant something in a pot? This watering can full of holly and winterberry is GORGEOUS!
Photo by Housepitality Designs
There's a nice assortment of fruits and nuts in this planter to add some color. They even have some pinecones painted white!
Similar in style to my black urns, this is a nice pop of color while still staying natural.
Although I normally stay "natural" with my urns and planters, I think this burst of colorful Christmas balls and painted twigs are a fun look!
I had a big lighted reindeer named Rodney on my porch last year, so maybe I'll extend the "whimsy" to my winter planters this year!
The branches on this one make the perfect spot for the cardinals to sit.
I love the formality of a urn on the porch.
I don't know if I like the door to the house better than the planters, but it shows that lower profile planters can work very well on a porch. I really do like that door though!!!
And if two pots are good, then three are definitely a statement.
And don't think you need to stick with natural colors or traditional red and green, blue can be a show stopper too! This one has a blue pot AND blue accents.
This one sticks with a more traditional planter and just adds blue and white where it counts!
You don't have to do the same thing in each container either. This is a good example of using different sized containers and planting slightly different plantings in each.
If you live in a warmer climate you can get away with some ivy in your planter also.
Or what about some holly instead of pine? In my book, holly isn't used nearly as often as it should be.
OK, now that you've had a look around, which is your favorite?
Check out the web story version of this article HERE.
Pat
All of these are stunning. Are the branches
In water?
Pam
When I make mine, I stick the branches in dirt! I'll just clip off what was in the pot previously, stick the greens and branches in the dirt and then water it well. For instance if it was a pot of mums, I'll clip the flowered part off down to the dirt and leave the roots still in the pot to make a thicker surface to stick the greens into. If you don't have flowers in the pot already you can just fill the pot with potting soil, the other way just makes a firmer place to hold up your branches. You don't need to keep watering after that initial watering, because the water sort of freezes the branches in place and will stay damp enough for a few months. Mine have stayed fresh all the way up until the end of February which is when I normally start to think about changing it up to something more spring-like.
Nana Diana
OMGOSH, Pam! These are ALL fantastic!!! There is not a single one that I don't like. Amazing. I am earmarking this post so I can come back and study it for ideas for my front door! LOVE it. Hope you are doing well. Hugs to you and your special boyo this Thanksgiving. xo Diana
Pam
So glad you liked it! Hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Diane
They are all stunning and beautiful, Pam! I love the combination of green, white and red. That combination wins inside our home. However, outside, we celebrate the season with police officer blues. Love the large darker blue planter. I would add several darker hues of blue to pick up the deeper color of the planter.
Diane
Gorgeous and inspirational ideas! Wish they were pinable. Wish the links went directly to the photos.
Linda @ Itsy Bits And Pieces
These are all so pretty, Pam! I really need to do a nice pot at the lakehouse! Thanks for the inspiration!
Jenny
Yes, they're great! I usually do my pots the day after Thanksgiving, but we've had such cold weather that the dirt is pretty frozen I'll figure it out. What about bringing them into the house for a few weeks? Haven't tried that but I might- protecting the floor, of course. I use a vintage aluminum tree but miss the frangrance of pine!
Julie Briones
What a gorgeous post! So many lovely plants and arrangements! LOVE and pinned!
Meegan
Each one is just as lovely as the next. I like the berries and sticks with a rustic style. You have inured me to create something for our teeny tiny front porch (3x3ft)
Thanks for sharing so many beautiful ideas.
Jane Anderson
Hi Pam, thanks for sharing amazing blog. I love to do gardening in my spare time. Keep sharing.
Tiffany
I love all these beautiful ideas for the porches. Time to get started...
Sammie K. Neighbors
I loved all of your design ideas for porches !
sherry
I love them all. I can do this! Are they all made with fresh greenery
Dee
Can you tell me where the big stainless steel pots are from? They look galvanized steel
Kathy
I’ve seen them at Hobby Lobby
Lesley
All of your ideas sure helped me put together my Christmas urn. It’s turning my neighbours heads. Thanks again
Suzie
I love them all and definitely will try to create something similar this year in my black urns ... can you share some ideas using metal lanterns?
Linda
I really like VE the antique galvanized steel planters! Can you tell me where to
Purchase them?
Nana Diana
These are all great, Pam. I was thinking last night that I need to get over to the refuse area where people dump their cuttings to get first pick of Christmas greenery.
Have a wonderful week- xo Diana
Teresa
Where do you get your supplies? Especially the berries and birch branches? These are gorgeous!