Garden Greens for Winter

Between working at two leading Chicago area garden centers, I’ve made thousands of winter porch pots, wreaths, and miscellaneous swags, lanterns, hostess gifts, yule logs, and more. And I still love doing winter arrangements with cut greens.

Nowadays, I make things for myself. It’s a happy hour of playing with plants in a different way, although some elements are similar. I’m still building layers of texture. I’m still working with color and form.

This is the second year I’ve made a swag for my arbor, including winding battery-powered lights through it and outdoor candles. They are all on timers, which I love, even if they eat batteries. I can be snug in the office and watch them flicker to life without raising a finger.

I also made a large arrangement with an old lantern that has a outdoor pillar candle on a timer. Just because. I can’t say a lot folks are coming over (we have odd schedules), but it makes me happy. I hope it cheers up the mailman, too.

This year, I had enough left over bits plus gleanings from the yard to make a porch pot for my parents. My mother is quite the hostess and had at least one holiday party, plus lots of visits. It was nice to surprise them.

Each of these uses elements harvested from my own yard, plus purchased greens and decorative berries. This year, the Hetz columnar junipers were trimmed for their luscious berries. Hydrangeas were cut for their dried flowers. Bits were snipped from various evergreens for added fill and color. Add in yards of paddle wire and some patience, and I have arrangements that make me ridiculously happy through February.

Perhaps next year I’ll do more with dried seedheads, fern fronds, grasses, and twigs. I’m debating the wisdom of letting some wild grape go just for the dried vines. I encourage you to plant for all seasons! You never know when a dried hydrangea flower will come in handy.