Five lush winter planters that will last until spring

Whimsical
Touches of white in the crown of painted twigs balances the feathery cedar branches Jim used in this planter. He always begins by using a clock method—putting material in at 12, 3, 6 and 9— as a rough guide around the perimeter of a container. Here he started with the cedar, then moved on to other textured greenery and sculptural lotus pods. For a quirky topiary effect, Jim wove a cedar garland around an inverted grapevine cone and wired it to bamboo stakes to hold it in place.

Plant material list:

• White decorative branches
• Cedar garland
• Robusta eucalyptus
• Oregonia
• Decorative badam, dyed
• Silver fir
• Lotus pods
• B.C. cedar
• African greens

* Check out our story, Create an elegant evergreen planter, for step-by-step tips on creating these types of winter containers.