Christmas urn
December 3, 2022
Summer and Fall are behind us. The flowers have been pulled out of their pots and the pots have been moved into the shed. Winter is around the corner and we’ve resigned to ignore the garden for the next 4 months. Our gardens are once again becoming lifeless, stark, colourless, and we are bracing ourselves for a covering of white, frozen nastiness.
It need not be so.
Why not keep the pots on the front porch, top them up with soil or sand, and add fresh greenery that will last until early spring? Making a festive arrangement for the front door will add life to an otherwise bleak and bland entryway.
Start by adding sand to fill the container to the brim. Next, find a few bundles of assorted green stems. Spruce or Fir is ideal. If your container is 12 to 14 inches in diameter, aim for your tallest evergreen boughs to be about 16 inches high.
If you are using birch poles or other heavy stems, place them in the soil first. All other stems are small enough that they can be jabbed into the sand. Strip the lower limbs off the bough so the remaining stem is almost tree like. Make a fresh cut at the bottom of the stem so it easily can be inserted into the sand.
In a festive green container or urn, your first and tallest stems should be sturdy enough so they won’t fall over. Jab 3 or 4 stems into the soil at the rear or centre of the pot. Once the outer main stems are placed, find 6 to 8 medium length stems and place them in front of the first row. Repeat once again with 10 or 12 shorter stems. For added interest, use a mix of Cedar, Pine, and spruce.
When the basics of your festive urn is complete, find about 20 small stems and jab them into the sand as you see fit. Take your time to cut and carefully place the small stems throughout the urn. Your finishing touch will be in the fine details.
For a change in texture, add a few broadleaf stems such as Euonymus, Boxwood or Holly. Red or Yellow Dogwood is a favorite and should be added at the beginning, along with your initial largest evergreen stems.
By now your urn should be as green as can be and it is time to add the fun details. Use your imagination to come up with “jewelry” for a finishing touch. A few artificial red berries will be beautiful, as will wicker balls, Santa clause, bird houses, wood signs or dried Hydrangea flowers.
In January, when the festive season is behind us, pull out the Christmas details and enjoy the greenery until the March thaw.
