Bring Zest To The Frozen Outdoors

Just because Mother Nature has closed the window for gardening outdoors, there’s no reason you have to stare out the windows at barren pots filled with frozen soil. With a little creativity those pots can become greenery masterpieces.

The holiday is in high gear.

Corner fruit stands have been replaced by rows of pine trees.

Garden centers have moved out racks of seeds, soil and potted plants for pots of blazing poinsettias, tree tops and garland.

First, the outdoor decorations. Fill empty pots with tree tops. Trim down if necessary.

If you have to do some pruning in the yard, use the discards and add them to your pots.

You can even splash some paint on twigs to give an interesting color; red or blue bows can also give an added touch for the holidays.

Whatever you select, it must be able to withstand cold, windy, wet days.

If you can water the soil down once the arrangement is set, the moist soil will freeze, making a solid foundation for the arrangement.

You can also transform bird baths into spectacular arrangements. But since bird baths are so shallow, use Styrofoam instead of soil to help hold onto the tree tops.

Tree tops will stay green and soft as long as the temperatures stay cool, which is why they will not last long indoors. The warmth will dry tree tops and natural garlands, leaving nothing more than a pile of needles to be swept up when all the cheer is gone. For that reason, I like to decorate the inside of my house with fake garlands and greenery and save the real stuff for the outdoors so I can enjoy them through the winter season.