Grand Finale
My winter pots remind me of Friday nights. Why Friday nights you may ask? One word…leftovers. Also known as GYO, as in Get-Your-Own. I tell my kids to open the fridge and see what’s left and make something good out of it. And that’s what ends up happening for me when I am designing my winter pots sometime towards the middle of December.
My clients’ homes are all decked out for the holidays so I take stock of what greens, twigs and ornaments I have left and try to determine a cohesive way of tying all the remaining material together. Anyone who has heard me lecture knows that I often come up with some kind of a theme before starting the winter pots. This helps me make sure all my clients’ pots (and sometimes there are upwards of 20) reflect a cohesive look regardless of whether they are by the garage, pool or front door.
This year after looking through the leftovers of Winter 2016 I realized two things:
First, I am getting better at estimating how much material I will need. Gone are the days of six boxes of homeless greens; this year I was down to two.
Second, 2016 would be the Winter of the Antler, or WOTA for short. I had conducted a wreath-making workshop and found some neat small antlers which I really liked; I think they reminded me of the real antlers that my Dad would find in the woods and send to me, so I bought them all. Needless to say there were leftovers. I also had some fir tips, assorted spruce and a bit of cedar. I wanted to add a contrasting green so I splurged on some leucothoe. I have never used it and want to see how it will hold up.
Two bunches of curly willow leftover from a job would be perfect for the pots by the front door. Their brown stems would be a nice contrast to my white house.
I had some magnolia that I could add. Plus plenty of leftover red and white berries. I never use real berries which are too easily stripped by the birds but I would not be without their artificial look-alikes.
Finally, to continue the woodsy feel I added some lotus pods and extra-large pinecones. My house sits quite a way back from the street; regular size pinecones would have gotten lost.
[table id=1 /]
In the meantime, I am settling in for a long winter’s nap.
Follow Us!