Bundles of spruce tips — that winter perennial — are now plentiful at garden centers and supermarkets. Many of us plunge the evergreen branches into planters, then stick in a few red dogwood twigs, nest a couple of pine cones, and call it a day.
This year, try dressing up your pot like it's the centerpiece at a holiday party. To give you ideas, we enlisted two designers to craft creative containers mixing eye-pleasing textures, colors and shapes — to decorate your front door or patio for the holidays and through the winter months.
"It feels good to see a beautiful pot welcoming you home in the winter," said Paula Thrall, Gertens designer. You can copy these creations or borrow ideas to design your own. For the how-to recipes, go to H8.
VINTAGE NOSTALGIA
Designer: Paula Thrall, Gertens, 5500 Blaine Av., Inver Grove Heights, gertens.com.
Design tips: Red, brown and green hues are repeated throughout the arrangement.
Recipe for success:
• Half a whiskey barrel filled with soil.