Winter Planters

Bring some beauty to your outdoor planters for the winter!

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  • Red winter planter of cedar and berries at an arched wooden entrance
  • White and birch winter planter beside a black front door
  • Tall red spikes in black urns either side of a wooden front door
  • Winter planter of birch, gold ornaments and cedar against a wooden wall
  • Two classical black urns with tall red spikes and cedar flanking a wooden front door
  • Winter planter with birch, cones, magnolia and cream accents
  • Red and cedar winter planters flanking an arched wooden front door
  • Red winter planter of cedar and berries on a brick front step
  • Row of cedar winter planters along a fence line
  • Storefront entrance decorated with evergreen garland, gold ribbon and red accents
  • Vanessa Monardo holding a white winter wreath beside a birch filled planter
  • White poinsettia, birch and silver stems in a winter planter on stone
  • Winter planter of mixed evergreen and cedar against a brick wall
  • White and silver winter arrangement with birch, white blooms and frosted stems
  • White urn of birch and pampas grass on a front lawn at a stone house
  • Two boxwood planters with cedar and white accents flanking a wood front door
  • Winter planter with cedar, pinecones and gold twig balls beside a dark front door
  • Close-up of a winter planter with pinecones, gold twig balls and silver ribbon
  • Winter planter of magnolia, gold ornaments, birch and cedar
  • Winter planters of cedar and birch either side of a brick front step
  • Arched stone entrance with winter planters and evergreen at the door
  • Stone entry with matching cedar and red winter planters on the steps
  • Copper and rust winter planter with magnolia, birch and cedar
  • White and birch winter planters flanking a dark front door
  • Classic red winter planter with magnolia, berries and birch rounds
  • Red berry and birch winter planter with cones and cedar
  • White birch and cedar winter planters flanking a black and white door
  • Winter planter of birch, magnolia and white accents beside a black rail
  • Glass porch framed with evergreen garland and a red winter planter
  • Arched stone entrance with red and cedar winter planters on the steps
  • Matching winter planters of cedar and red accents at a stone entry
  • Copper trumpets, magnolia and birch in a rust toned winter planter
  • Winter planter of birch, magnolia and cedar at a dark modern door
  • Birch and cedar winter planters flanking a brick front entrance
  • Tall birch and cedar winter planter at a dark door with a red wreath
  • Brick window box filled with cedar, birch and white winter accents
  • Copper and magnolia winter planter with dried oranges, birch branches and cedar at a pale blue door
  • White and silver winter planter with birch, cones and frosted ornaments
  • Low cedar winter planting along a stone edged front lawn
  • White and silver winter planter with pale blue grasses and frosted ornaments in a stone container
  • White urn of birch and pampas at a grand stone entrance
  • Arched wooden door framed by clipped boxwood and cedar planters
  • Cedar and boxwood winter planter with birch rounds at a front step
  • Close-up of cedar, boxwood and birch rounds layered in a winter planter
  • Winter planter of cedar, magnolia and gold ornaments beside a stone step
  • Grey front entrance with matching cedar winter planters on the steps
  • Winter planter of birch, gold ornaments and cascading cedar beside a black rail
  • Tall winter planter of birch, gold ornaments and cedar against brick
  • Arched stone entry with cedar winter planters on the front steps
  • Cedar winter planters either side of a dark door under a stone portico
  • Copper trumpet accents, birch and cedar in a tall winter planter
  • Red and copper winter planter of cedar and magnolia beside an iron gate
  • Navy and white winter planter with birch, ornaments and cedar at a front door
  • Tall winter planter of birch, cones and cedar against a brick wall
  • Winter planter in copper and rust with birch, cones and cedar at a stone entry
  • Tall birch and cedar winter planters on a paved front walk
  • Winter planter of birch, cones and white accents against a stone wall
  • Garage framed with evergreen garland beside a cedar winter planter
  • Winter planter with birch, white ornaments and cedar beside a wooden fence
  • Two winter planters of cedar and birch under an arched stone portico
  • Winter planters of cedar and birch outside a glass fronted entrance
  • Winter planter of birch and cedar beside a modern glass entry
  • Tall winter planters of cedar and birch branches flanking a white-columned front entry
  • Tall birch and cedar winter planters at a dark front door
  • Brick entry with a cedar wreath and matching winter planters
  • Winter planter of cedar and rust accents beside a blue front door and wreath
  • Winter wreath of cedar, pine cones and dried citrus on a grey door
  • Two winter planters of cedar and birch on a stone patio
  • Winter planter with birch branches and cedar against a brick wall
  • Winter planter of cedar, birch and a tall red spike at a stone entry

A winter planter is the longest display of the year. It goes up in November and it is still standing in March, roughly twice as long as the fall version, and almost everything that goes wrong with one is a timing problem rather than a design problem.

A winter planter is not planted. It is inserted.

Nothing in a winter container is alive. Every stem in it has been cut. The only thing holding it upright through wind, freezing rain and four months of weather is the material in the pot, which has to be soft enough to push a stem into and then hard enough to grip it until spring.

That single fact sets the whole calendar. Build too early, in mild wet weather, and nothing locks: the arrangement leans and the cedar browns before December. Build after the ground has frozen and you are forcing stems into something with the give of a parking lot. In the GTA the usable window is almost always the first two weeks of November.

What goes in one

Height first, and usually birch, dogwood or curly willow. Then the greens, and two kinds rather than one, because two conifers read as designed where one reads as a clipping: cedar for volume, pine or fir for structure. Then texture, which is the layer most people leave out and the one that separates a winter planter from a green bucket. Magnolia, seeded eucalyptus, silver brunia, berry stems, pine cones.

Accents go in last, clustered rather than scattered, in odd numbers, low and to one side. Fill until no container shows, then let something cascade over the rim so the arrangement meets the pot instead of sitting on top of it.

Design it for the dark

Almost every winter planter is photographed in daylight and lived with at night. From late November your entrance is seen in the dark far more often than not, so pale elements, strong verticals and reflective texture do more work than fine detail. Add lights once the arrangement is finished, never before, and then leave it alone.

Three ways to end up with one

Have it designed and built for you at your own entrance, which is the installation service, and which books out well before the build window. Order a winter planter kit and build it yourself in an afternoon with the material already proportioned. Or work to the Christmas Planter Countdown, which sets out every date from choosing the container in September to pulling the greens in March.

For six worked examples that hold from November to March, see Winter Planter Ideas.

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