Decorating for the holidays - Outdoor Pots

Decorating our homes' entrance is the start of holiday decorating for me.  This includes lights around my shrubs/trees and

decorating my pots. You can purchase a pre-made insert that will fit into your urn or you can have your pots decorated on site utilizing soil already in your containers.

Urn containers can be made in different sizes.  Here is a sample of a large pre-made urn container that would then just be inserted into an urn or pot.

I have very large pots in the front of my house so I decorated them using the existing soil. There are so many choices when it comes to choosing your evergreens.  I recommend using at least 3 different evergreens to add contrasting texture and colour thus giving it more dimension. I used white pine as my base evergreen and then added from there. I chose birch poles and red dogwood as my stems for the center. Once the evergreens are done it is time to add some accent items to fill gaps and add additional colour.  Accent items can range from specialty greens like Magnolia leaves or Eucalyptus to pine cones and glitter branches to fruits to outdoor balls and decorations.  The choice is yours.

Here are some samples of outdoor pots that are natural looking and will last the holiday season as well as throughout the winter months.

Don't forget a wreath or swag for your front door. I made a fairly simple fresh greens one for our front door seen here.

If you prefer a little more of a festive look add decorations (keep in mind that in our Eastern Canadian climate whatever you stick in the soil will end up frozen there until spring thaw. I suggest anchoring your decorations in a way that you can remove after the holiday season).

Lights can also be added for some extra sparkle.

A simple wreath using fresh greens.

Dendrobium Orchids

I enjoy working with all types of tropical flowers, and one that I find to be very versatile is the Dendrobium Orchid.  These orchid sprays are available in a variety of solid colours and some in two tone (white, light green, purple, blue, etc.). The long stem filled with flower and buds is usually a standout in any arrangement.  I used the combination of the Siam Blue variety (actual color is purple) Dendrobium with green Fuji (spider) mum and white lily to create these three arrangements.

The orchid is the focus of this upright arrangement.

 

 

The Dendrobium orchid shows off it's length in this low lying long arrangement.

 

Top view.

It's purple colour pops in this arrangement.

Halloween Inspired

This hand tied bouquet can be used for a fun Halloween themed wedding as a bouquet or placed in a tall vase as a table centrepiece.  Would work well as a floral arrangement for any Halloween themed event.

 

 

Large gerbera, roses, celosia and green trick dianthus



Fall Weddings

Fall weddings have been gaining in popularity over the years.  Thanksgiving weekend in particular has been seeing some significant growth.  Here are some fall seasonal pieces:

Boutonniere with various berries

Mokara orchid wristlet

 

Burgundy mini cymbidium orchids are the highlight of this hair piece (clip)

 

Rich colours make this raised centrepiece a standout. Beautiful roses, large premium red rovers and the thistle catch your eye along with the whimsical bear grass on the top. The bottom vase showcases the ever popular dendrobium orchid stem.

Thanksgiving

Fall brings some great colours and textures. It also means that our outdoor gardens are coming to an end. 

This thanksgiving, I made this arrangement utilizing flowers and greens from my garden.

 

 

Here is another fall arrangement that would make a very nice hostess gift on Thanksgiving.