Rectangular Outdoor Christmas Container

I love working with various shaped containers.

This one was fun to work on. Here's how:

Depending on your birch branch supplier, some are cut to specific lengths, others not. Cut to your desired height.

Don't worry if you had annuals or veggies in your container, just work out the hardest plant debris and loosen the soil a bit. Soil works just as well as sand. Sand is great for smaller containers. This large container won't budge in the wind.

For this design, I decided to make a line of birch. You could stagger them, or clump them in the middle. Be creative! Skewer the birch into the soil, making sure they are fixed down deep enough to endure wintery winds.

Begin by selecting several kinds of greens. Here, starting from the top left and going clockwise are: Princess Pine, BC Cedar, Oregonia and Green Boxwood. Use what you like. My combos just seemed to work well with the beige tone of the container. I cut the boughs into smaller sections, this gives more of a bulkier look to the design and it saves some money in the long run.

Begin by skirting the base with pine and then add layers of other greens as you go.

I've been making Christmas containers for a long time and recently, the selections of outdoor accents have increased exponentially. The most important factor: use what you like. I prefer more natural tones and I try to find product that will last me more than just one season. There's so much selection out there. I've used (clockwise) Magnolia stems, cones, pods, pussy willow stems, and artificial berries.

Hoping the postal worker will enjoy delivering the mail this Christmas season! The neutral and more natural tones will also carry this container well into February. I am hoping the pussy willow stems will begin to show their fussy flowers come March.