The glistening white blanket of snow that covers our yards all winter long does add a lot of beauty to our lives, but we get it—sometimes you crave a bit more color in your life. So this winter, as your garden sleeps to prepare for the upcoming season, liven up your front door with a porch pot!
The bold textures and contrasting colors in a porch pot will add curb appeal to your home; something people can enjoy even from a distance.
Materials to Use
Putting together a porch pot is all about getting creative. So while there are no real limitations as to what may look best in your porch winter decor, there are a number of go-to elements you can use for a pot that’s both foolproof and of designer quality.
- Winter container: Choose a container that can withstand a winter in Bismarck. For a rustic look, go with a reclaimed wood barrel or use a concrete planter for something more modern and industrial.
- Evergreen boughs: Other plants in your landscape may have lost their leaves and color, but dependable evergreens haven’t! We love mixing different species of conifers so that we blend different textures, colors, and smells together. For example, combine spruce, cedar, and juniper in one pot.
- Dramatic twigs and stems: To add some height to your pot, choose some tall twigs and stems to include. For example, use red twig dogwood stems, birch poles, or curly willow stems.
- Natural elements like pinecones and berries: Use nature’s built-in holiday decorations, like pinecones and berries! Blue juniper berries or bright red holly berries are like mini ball ornaments. For pinecones, select oversized ones so that they stand out among the greenery. Either put them in the pot as is or paint them with glitter or to match a particular color palette.
- String lights: The soft glow of white string lights will highlight the pot itself, plus it will provide some much-needed brightness during the darker winter months.
- Holiday decorations: Adding holiday ornaments will increase the festive feeling of your porch pot. Consider adding red bows and other ornaments, like balls and stars.
For even more curbside appeal, create a wreath with pieces left over from your porch pot, decorate the bench on your porch, and display bundles of firewood wrapped in ribbon.
How to Create a Winter Porch Pot
Now that you have all the materials you need, it’s time to put together your designer-quality pot! There’s no right or wrong way to put it together, so feel free to let your mind wander and get creative! Play around with things—add a bit more here or take something away there—and soon enough, it will look just right. Keep in mind that if your pot is in a windy spot, you’ll have to make sure to put the branches in the soil deep enough so that they don’t blow away or get knocked over.
- Prepare the container: Fill the pot with dense potting soil, and then water it. After you’ve got everything in place and the water in the soil freezes, it will be more sturdy, keeping the branches in place.
- Start in the center: Just like when creating containers for spring, summer, and fall, it’s a good idea to have the tall focal point right in the middle. This can be tall, elegant twigs or a sturdy branch of an evergreen, like spruce.
- Add some volume: Use clippings from various evergreens to fill in the gaps. Pieces of cedar and wispy pine can drape elegantly over the edges, and juniper and boxwood can help fill out the container. This is where the playing around part comes in—and don’t worry, with such beautiful pieces of greenery, there is no real way to make mistakes!
- Personalize it: Now it’s time to make it your own! Add any decorations, like lights or holiday ornaments. You can also turn to Mother Nature for some ornaments, like berries and pinecones.
Your porch pot can last all through the season, creating a festive, cozy atmosphere all winter long! For even more curbside appeal, create a wreath with pieces left over from your porch pot, decorate the bench on your porch, and display bundles of firewood wrapped in ribbon.