Unless you live in a mild climate, chances are that your container gardens look a bit drab during the winter months. Instead of emptying your pots and hoping for an early spring, create a holiday arrangement that can add a bit of cheer through even the dreariest of months. Using natural winter greens and branches, you can create a lively splash of green in an otherwise empty container.

Follow this simple guide to creating an arrangement that’ll last through the holidays. Kim Gamel Materials:

• A container with soil
• Several evergreen boughs of varying heights
• A few decorative branches and accents, such as pinecones, feathery grass and berries Kim Gamel Pick a container. You can use one that once held your summer or fall arrangements. Instead of pulling out the plants and soil, cut the tops of the plants at the soil line, keeping the soil and roots intact. These will help to keep the greens stable. I’m going to keep the Dorotheanthus (an annual from summer) that is trailing over the edges here, because it still looks good. If it dies out with a future frost, I can just trim it away. Kim Gamel Add greenery. Several types of evergreen branches will make a lasting arrangement; pine, spruce, hemlock, holly and cedar are excellent options. You can use as many as you like for texture and variety. For this arrangement, I’m using a mixture of white pine, with its short and spiky needles, and Port Orford cedar, which has glossy, green, feather-like branches. Kim Gamel Start with the largest limbs. These will be the foundation for the arrangement. Add one branch in the center toward the back of the pot, sticking it deep down into the soil to keep it steady. Then add branches on both sides, arching outward. Continue adding shorter branches around the perimeter of the pot. Fill in any empty spaces with crisscrossing branches, continuing to arch them outward. Kim Gamel Add height and drama with branches. If you happen to have a redtwig dogwood or curly willow in your garden already, consider yourself lucky. Just trim a few inconspicuous branches and you’re good to go. If not, many nurseries, crafts stores and even grocery stores carry decorative branches, either in their natural state or painted for the holidays.

For this container I’m going to stick with a few dogwood branches. Their red color will last through the winter. How many you'll need will depend on the size of your pot. Start with a small odd number — say, three or five — and add more if needed. Kim Gamel Create interest with accents. Juniper berries, winterberry, crabapples and fountain grass can spice up an arrangement. I’m using blue-berried juniper and yellow-tipped incense cedar for a festive winter look that doesn’t read too Christmas-y. Alternatively, the red fruits of winterberry and crabapple would offer a nice merry touch.

For a focal point, I’m using a large sugar pine cone, but a bow or small wrapped present could also add some glitz. Kim Gamel Put in a finishing touch. I’m including a few branches tipped with LED lights for illumination at night. These indoor-outdoor lights require an outlet, but you can find battery-operated alternatives online.

And there you have it! With just a few ingredients and about a half an hour, you can create a warm, inviting entryway for your guests all winter long.

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