How to Make Winter Porch Pots

While much of the focus at this time of the year surrounds Christmas decorating, I love ideas that can be carried on throughout the winter.  Winter porch pots are one of those pretty outdoor ideas that you can continue to enjoy long after the Christmas decorations are packed away for the season.  You’ve seen them at local nurseries, or perhaps even on someone’s front porch.  Today I’m going to show you how to make winter porch pots for your own home.  And the bonus is that they are easy and inexpensive to make!  This post contains some affiliate links.

Find Your Container 

For my winter porch pots, I like to use outdoor pots that I have on hand.  Perhaps they are the same ones that you used for your fall mums, or summer flowers.  The ones I used had seen better days, so I pulled out some black outdoor spray paint and gave them a quick refresh.  You can see that the time that it had been outside had taken its toll.  You can see in the photo above that my urn looks brand new with just a coat of spray paint.  If you don’t have any pots on hand, there are loads out there from which to choose.  If you like the look of an urn, you can find similar options here.

Choose Your Greenery

The great thing about evergreens is that many people have them as part of their own landscaping, so you have a source on hand that is FREE.  (My favorite)  If not, check out local nurseries and places like Lowes or Home Depot for greenery.  Note: I went to Lowes and they had Christmas tree cuttings that were also FREE.  You’ll want a variety of greenery – some cedar, some fir, and some taller pieces for the center of your pot (I used a spruce tip).  Think of it the same way you would a window box – you want greenery to “thrill, fill and spill.”

From there, you’ll want to add floral foam (for fresh flowers) and soak it with water.  If you don’t have floral foam, you can just use the dirt in the pot (I’ve done that in previous years).  The floral foam just gives the winter porch pots a bit of an extended life.  These should last into January or February.

Get Creative!

Now you’ll want to add your tall evergreens to the center of your pot.  Think of a Christmas tree look.  And look how pretty that pot looks now, all painted.  Brand new again!

Next you add the “skirt” to the pot.  This is where I used two kinds of cedar from my yard.  One was a darker green and then I topped it with one that is a lighter green for a little more interest.  Trim them as needed and tuck into the floral foam.  You really can’t mess these up, I promise.

Once you’re satisfied with your skirt, add some of the evergreen filler with the fir evergreens.  I used two different kinds – Frasier Fir and Douglas Fir, but you can use whatever you have on hand.  You’re just looking for something to fill in the space between the skirt and the center evergreens.

Add Embellishments

Now you get to have fun and add some embellishments to your winter porch pots.  Choose some floral picks that you like (these can be found in the floral department at Hobby Lobby or Michael’s as an example).  Or, you may be a Christmas decor hoarder like me, and have some on hand already.

Add in the picks to finish off your pot, and you’re done!  You can see that I added some magnolia leaves to mine as well.  We had an ice storm a couple weeks ago, and my parents’ neighbor had a bunch sitting out for the trash, so I asked him if I could take some, and he let me help myself to a big bundle. 🙂

So there you have it.  Easy and inexpensive winter porch pots.  A great addition to your holiday decorating that give you a real bang for your buck!  I’ve made four of them so far, and am planning on adding one more! 

If you’d like to see me put one of these together, live, check out the Facebook Live that I did earlier this week, and use it as your guide. 🙂  And I apologize in advance for being sideways at the beginning of the video.  It doesn’t last long, I promise.

Do you have winter porch pots as part of your winter decorating?

Jenny