Eva<\/a> planters set up for floating arrangements from October-April on my back deck. In central NC we freeze almost every night in December-February and often get snow and ice. That is no problem for these winter floating designs. In fact, over the years I have had arrangements freeze in place and still last for up to 2 weeks thanks to the colder temperatures!<\/p>\nWHERE SHOULD YOU PLACE THEM?<\/h2>\n
Place your floating arrangements close to a water source! This will make upkeep easy. They can be sited in any exposure but be aware that sunny locations will cause the water to heat up more quickly and which results in faster decomposition of the plant material. Shady locations will keep the designs looking fresh longer.<\/p>\n
Yes, this can be done inside! In fact, that is where I first started floating flowers, specifically Camellias and fragrant Edgeworthia. But the heat of your house will make the flowers decompose rapidly. This is what lead me to take this practice outside. Plus, I can use larger vessels and make more interesting arrangements.<\/p>\n
HOW OFTEN DO YOU CHANGE THE WATER?<\/strong> This depends on the time of year. In the cool season, the water needs to be changed less frequently because the material does not break down as quickly. My rule of thumb is to refresh the pots and allow water to overflow to get rid of any organic matter floating around. I use a pool net to clear out the old, decaying flowers. If a green ring starts to form, I dump the water out and scrub it clean.<\/p>\nIn warmer weather I recommend the addition of a small amount of chlorine to ensure the water stays fresh and mosquito free!<\/p>\n
These vessels are also a source of water for \u201cwildlife\u201d including my kitties. But I have also seen birds using them and am sure that nocturnal creatures like opossums and raccoons may also take a drink from them. For that reason, I try not to add chemicals or float poisonous plant material.<\/p>\n
WHAT PLANTS WORK BEST?<\/strong> ALL PLANTS WORK! Some plants will last longer than others. It\u2019s a fun experiment to see what blooms and leaves are the longest \u201clived\u201d. You will discover this over time. Temperatures will play a big role in how the container garden performs. Variegated asltroemia foliage is one of my favorite \u201cfillers\u201d and camellia, chrysanthemum, hellebore, pansy, and viola blooms are other seasonal favorites to float.<\/p>\nI hope you will be inspired to get creative with your Crescent Garden containers this winter season! The sky is the limit for all that can be created.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Winter is a great season for container gardening. With seemingly endless possibilities you can be creative with your plant selections. This is a fun way to add interest to patios and porches or spice up a boring spot in your landscape. This gardening practice is for EVERYONE, especially with stylish Crescent Gardens pots! Container gardening […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":21312,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1751,252,254],"tags":[],"acf":{"blog_related_products":[13915,12707,12629],"author_name":"Brie Arthur","author_description":"Bestselling author and horticulturist, Brie Arthur has garnered acclaim for her enthusiastic presentations and practical, out of the box gardening advice. Originally from southeastern Michigan, Brie Arthur studied Landscape Design and Horticulture at Purdue University. With more than a decade of experience as a grower and propagator she now shares her expertise as an advocate for consumer horticulture and home gardening across America.","author_image":{"ID":21302,"id":21302,"title":"Brie GWG pot","filename":"Brie-GWG-pot.jpg","filesize":144822,"url":"https:\/\/www.crescentgarden.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Brie-GWG-pot.jpg","link":"https:\/\/www.crescentgarden.com\/blog\/winter-container-gardening-for-outdoor-areas\/attachment\/brie-gwg-pot-3\/","alt":"","author":"447","description":"","caption":"","name":"brie-gwg-pot-3","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":21301,"date":"2021-12-09 16:17:33","modified":"2021-12-09 16:17:33","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/www.crescentgarden.com\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":960,"height":959,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.crescentgarden.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Brie-GWG-pot.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/www.crescentgarden.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Brie-GWG-pot.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.crescentgarden.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Brie-GWG-pot.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":767,"large":"https:\/\/www.crescentgarden.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Brie-GWG-pot.jpg","large-width":960,"large-height":959,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.crescentgarden.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Brie-GWG-pot.jpg","1536x1536-width":960,"1536x1536-height":959,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.crescentgarden.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Brie-GWG-pot.jpg","2048x2048-width":960,"2048x2048-height":959,"et-pb-post-main-image":"https:\/\/www.crescentgarden.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Brie-GWG-pot.jpg","et-pb-post-main-image-width":250,"et-pb-post-main-image-height":250,"et-pb-post-main-image-fullwidth":"https:\/\/www.crescentgarden.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Brie-GWG-pot.jpg","et-pb-post-main-image-fullwidth-width":676,"et-pb-post-main-image-fullwidth-height":675,"et-pb-portfolio-image":"https:\/\/www.crescentgarden.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Brie-GWG-pot.jpg","et-pb-portfolio-image-width":284,"et-pb-portfolio-image-height":284,"et-pb-portfolio-module-image":"https:\/\/www.crescentgarden.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Brie-GWG-pot.jpg","et-pb-portfolio-module-image-width":382,"et-pb-portfolio-module-image-height":382,"et-pb-portfolio-image-single":"https:\/\/www.crescentgarden.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Brie-GWG-pot.jpg","et-pb-portfolio-image-single-width":960,"et-pb-portfolio-image-single-height":959,"et-pb-gallery-module-image-portrait":"https:\/\/www.crescentgarden.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Brie-GWG-pot.jpg","et-pb-gallery-module-image-portrait-width":400,"et-pb-gallery-module-image-portrait-height":400,"et-pb-post-main-image-fullwidth-large":"https:\/\/www.crescentgarden.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Brie-GWG-pot.jpg","et-pb-post-main-image-fullwidth-large-width":960,"et-pb-post-main-image-fullwidth-large-height":959,"et-pb-image--responsive--desktop":"https:\/\/www.crescentgarden.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Brie-GWG-pot.jpg","et-pb-image--responsive--desktop-width":721,"et-pb-image--responsive--desktop-height":720,"et-pb-image--responsive--tablet":"https:\/\/www.crescentgarden.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Brie-GWG-pot.jpg","et-pb-image--responsive--tablet-width":552,"et-pb-image--responsive--tablet-height":551,"et-pb-image--responsive--phone":"https:\/\/www.crescentgarden.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Brie-GWG-pot.jpg","et-pb-image--responsive--phone-width":270,"et-pb-image--responsive--phone-height":270,"rpwe-thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.crescentgarden.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Brie-GWG-pot.jpg","rpwe-thumbnail-width":45,"rpwe-thumbnail-height":45,"woocommerce_thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.crescentgarden.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Brie-GWG-pot.jpg","woocommerce_thumbnail-width":960,"woocommerce_thumbnail-height":959,"woocommerce_single":"https:\/\/www.crescentgarden.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Brie-GWG-pot.jpg","woocommerce_single-width":600,"woocommerce_single-height":599,"woocommerce_gallery_thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.crescentgarden.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Brie-GWG-pot.jpg","woocommerce_gallery_thumbnail-width":100,"woocommerce_gallery_thumbnail-height":100,"variation_swatches_image_size":"https:\/\/www.crescentgarden.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Brie-GWG-pot.jpg","variation_swatches_image_size-width":50,"variation_swatches_image_size-height":50,"variation_swatches_tooltip_size":"https:\/\/www.crescentgarden.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Brie-GWG-pot.jpg","variation_swatches_tooltip_size-width":100,"variation_swatches_tooltip_size-height":100}},"hero_background_image":false,"hero_title":"","hero_subtitle":"","hero_link":"","text_copy":"","youtube_id":"","vimeo_id":"","structure":false,"autoplay":true,"global_slides":false,"activate_video_schema":false,"activate_article_schema":true,"article_schema":"