My winter planter arrangements looked great in December and January, but by March they are looking a little sad. The broad leaf evergreens such as American holly branches and trailing English ivy are pretty browned out from the winter winds. The red twig dogwood branches held up nicely as have the curly willows. But the cut conifer branches make the container look too much like a December holiday display.  While pansies, violas, snapdragons and stocks are considered cold-hardy annuals, they are not going to perform well in a planter while temperatures are still consistently below freezing. So, what can you do to spice up those winter displays in March and April?

One option would be to fill containers with an early blooming perennial such as Hellebores. These plants tend to be expensive, so I would only consider this if I needed this plant elsewhere. I would pull it from the container in May and plant it in my garden. But last year, my Hellebores bloomed throughout March and April. And since these blossoms tend to droop downward, having them up in a container makes them easier to appreciate.

Another option is to use what is still working (such as the red twig dogwood branches) and replace the parts of the arrangements that are getting old. Since I am cutting back the ornamental grasses right now, some of these stalks can be bundled up and used in a container. For that matter, any interesting or gnarly shaped branches that are pruned away in the spring have potential in a container arrangement.

Lastly, bulbs can add a lot to containers in March and April.  This takes some advance planning. In the fall, when I am planting tulips and daffodils, I make sure there are extras that I pot up and hide away somewhere in the back of the garden. Then in the spring, when the bulbs in the beds start to show, the ones in the pots can be swapped in and out of the containers for matching displays.

If you have any ideas or photos of effective cool-weather container arrangements for March and April, please send them to me so I can try them out.

Posted by Bob Rensel