Evergreen Urn/ Planter Tutorial

Earlier this week, I posted my Christmas urns. 

Here is a quick tutorial for those of you who might want to give it a whirl. I am not a florist/ trained designer. This is just a documentation of my trial & error building arrangements (ok done with my disclaimer).

Phase One: Building your Base

I purchased a 30# box of mixed evergreens and was able to do all the arrangements pictured.

First you need to decide on the shape of your arrangement. I wanted something with height and triangular.

 I placed the tall white pines first and then the bunchy juniper to fill in the gaps. Fir branches were laid across the bottom.

Once my back pieces were in place (pine & juniper in my case) I removed the fir branches and added sand followed by water to help hold the branches.

This is what I ended up with at the end of phase one.

For the shorter arrangements I filled a smaller pot with soil. 

Placed it inside the decorative urn. 

Then I filled in the smaller pot with a 

variety of greens. I also gave it the sand and water treatment.

Here is a shot of the group after phase one:

Phase Two: Making It Pretty
Now the fun starts, add and edit till the arrangement gives you the look you're after.
***For a frame of reference, the four arrangements featured took a whole package of curly willow, and 8 berry stems.
You will want to include and item or two of each of the following: 

• textural 
• vertical 
• pop of color 
• reflective (shine or glitter)

The curly willow is both vertical and textural while the ornament provides a pop of color and shimmer.

The berries and ornaments add visual interest from afar. Colored curly willow would be more visible from
the street but since I am hoping to use these arrangements all winter, I felt silver, gold & white
would be too Christmasy after December.

A few other helpful tips:

• You may need to cut the branches you have to achieve the look you are after.
• More structured arrangements can benefit from chicken wire/ florist tape grid to hold branches in place.
• If you feel stuck, walk away from the arrangement for awhile and come back with a fresh set of eyes. Google images of urns/planters for inspiration.
• Enjoy decorating, don't view it as a chore. It is meant to bring joy to both you and others. 

Merry Christmas!

Check out the party here!