I have the privilege to decorate the containers outside of my church.
Because these concrete "bowls" are so large (diameter is just under 3 feet), they can take a lot of product which can run rather expensive and can become a huge project if you don't take that into consideration.
Our church has a high volume of traffic, and having learned over the years, here are a few reasons why I make them more simple: a) won't make it too attractive to tug and pull out greens and the accents, b) won't make it into a waste basket for litter and c) cost effective.
I actually like that the greens aren't covering the birch stems. They really stand out and when the snow falls, it dusts the greens beautifully!
I used for each container:
2 scotch pine boughs (14lb bundle)
2 western red cedar boughs (8lb bundle)
2 boxwood bunches (8lb bundle)
10 glittered vine balls
5 silver dipped dried seed pods
2 bunches of red dogwood stems
6 stems of birch branches
Again, I just cut back the annuals that were growing in these containers and removed the worst of the thick stems. Instead of inserting the evergreen stems upright into the soil, I just inserted them horizontally. The dogwood helps the birch stay in place and the boxwood covers all the end bits that I used to fill the empty spaces.
