The summer formula applies here as well: a thriller, some filler, some spiller. The thriller needs to be tall enough to give the arrangement some height, but in proportion to the pot. The pot at the top of the page here has a spruce tip as its thriller. You can't see it so well in the picture, because it's at the back of the pot, around one o'clock. It's about the right height for the ceramic pot, which is itself maybe 14" tall. I've uploaded a couple of other shots as well so you can see some other choices: in the larger pots I used tall stems of curly willow, which you see in the back. Last year, I left the pots out on my deck till spring and I was thrilled to see that the curly willow had rooted! So this summer, I had tall, graceful willow branches with their slim leaves at the back of one of my larger containers. You can also use dogwood stems for the thrillers, either red ones or painted white. You need to go into the photo section to see these other two shots.
I put most of my attention into the filler: for me, that's really where the thrill is. (No, the thrill is not gone.) I like a nice, densely filled pot, and boxwood does a good job at that. I use lots of boxwood around the base of the thriller along with juniper (you can see the juniper in the photo front and center in the sun patch: it's got a couple of eucalyptus leaves over it, and it shows up better in real life). I like the juniper berries a lot, and the juniper itself is pretty dense.
The pop in the filler comes from color: the eucalyptus I get adds a nice purple touch. Some of the stems are thick enough that the eucalyptus stands up straight, as it does here, to act as filler. Some of the stems are flimsy, so the branch becomes part of the spiller, as it does in the photo below. The eucalyptus branches have seeds, which are also nice in the arrangement.
I also use the lovely magnolia tips as filler. Their glossy green and rich brown, along with their generous size, offer a terrific contrast to the lighter greens and needles. They give a nice, dense feel to the arrangement and they're very eye-catching.
But the biggest pop always comes from the winterberries. These grow on a shrub that is quite undistinguished the rest of the year, but in winter, it's a knockout. It's one of those plants that comes in male and female forms, so you have to make sure to get at least one male to pollinate the berry-bearing females. It likes moist, acid soil and full sun to part shade. It grows in zones 3 – 9, so most of us can grow it.
I buy mine, but last summer I bought two plants so maybe next year I'll get some fruit. I didn't get them till after the males had flowered, so none this year.
I try to be generous with the winterberry stalks, but too much is no better than too little. Fiddle with it till you're pleased.
As for spiller, the picture above has silver fir tips cascading over the edge of the pot. Another good plant to use for this is incense cedar, which you see on the smaller pot below. It has small yellow cones, often profusely on the tips of the branches, so they add another color to the pot. You probably need to trim the ends of the branches to get them to lie just the way you want them. (I'm more patient about this when I make pots for other people than I am when I do my own. Go figure.) As I said before, the eucalyptus stems can also be used as spillers; again, keep trimming the stems till they behave.
Because I live in zone 5, I mostly use either plastic or stone pots for winter. Terra cotta can break in freeze/thaw cycles. The pot above is terra cotta glazed, and I've been lucky with it so far, but I know I'm taking a chance. The largest pot, below, is a synthetic that's good for outside. Next to it, there is a terra cotta pot with an arborvitae in it that's just too heavy to move. The smaller pot below is a plastic one I bought cheap at a big box store.
I "plant" the stems in the cheapest topsoil available, or I simply take out what was growing in the pot and insert the winter stems. Since they're not growing, there's no need to provide them good soil. But if you use the cheap topsoil, compost it at the end of the winter season and replace with good potting soil for spring and summer plants.
I am going to spare you the rant about building contractors' practice of removing the soil from construction sites, selling it, and replacing it with cheap topsoil. But it doesn't hurt to be careful to ask about the nutrients in any soil or potting soil you buy. And composting is the best.
But I said I'd spare you the rant.
I've got a colleague who wraps her containers in garland, so she doesn't have to use any other spiller.
You can buy bunches of stems at garden centers. They're not cheap, but buying stems and making your own containers is a lot cheaper than buying pre-made ones, and they're your own creation too. You don't have to use as many different varieties as I've listed here: you can get a really beautiful container with spruce, boxwood, winterberry, and cedar. I've also given these as holiday presents for many years. The pots and 'soil' are inexpensive, and if you spray the arrangement with Wilt-Pruf or some other product made to inhibit transpiration, they will last for several months.
Water the pot after you make it, and when it freezes, your stems will be held tight. If it doesn't freeze in your area, keep watering as you would a bouquet indoors.
SO: what do gardeners want as holiday gifts? Why don't you share your wish list with the rest of us! And do visit my website: view link
