For as long as any of us can remember, holiday celebrations have included plants and flowers. From Easter lilies to fall mums to boughs of holly at Christmas, plants and planters are essential elements of seasonal decor. But when it comes to Christmas planters, we’re all tempted to up the ante that little bit more – keen to concoct something visually epic, joyful and unforgettable to residents and visitors alike.
If you feel overwhelmed when thinking about where to start with outdoor Christmas planters and holiday porch potsthere’s a tried-and-true design recipe that can simplify the process and give your festive theme an easy elegant twist. My secret weapon is the thriller filler spiller method, and it’s a classic display rule for all kinds of container plant arrangements.
It’s easy to apply this classic rule to holiday planters and holiday container plants, using vertical cuttings for height, textured foliage for volume, and flexible stems for trailing softness. Here’s how to use this simple yet highly impactful planting recipe to create showstopping holiday container pots.
What is the Thriller Filler Spiller Method?
I’ve always relied on instructions. I can get anywhere if I have a map, cook anything if I have a recipe, and put together any Ikea project thanks to the explicit directions. That is why I adore the thriller, filler, player method for creating unique yet tailored seasonal containers with a certain power status. It gives me a clear blueprint for designing a very special container for the holiday season. Here is the recipe for this classic container gardening design:
- Pick a thriller element, a primary focal point to draw the eye
- Use filler plants to fill in the gaps, weaving and winding around the thrillers to make the design lush and full
- Add some spillers that cascade over the lip of the container to create movement and softness.
It’s not just me – even professional florists use this simple framework for designing and building a lush and elegant plant container, whether you’re angling to arrange large outdoor plants in potsdisplay low maintenance patio plantsor create a more compact focal point for your porch or pathway. Let’s see how this might work for holiday container plants, incorporating live plants, plant clippings and other festive flourishes.
1. The Thriller: Height and Focal Point
(Image credit: Susan Vineyard / Getty Images)
The thriller element should be upright and lovely, or striking and attention-grabby. Here are some ideas that will work for Christmas displays:
A. Small, Cut Evergreen Boughs
Like it or not, evergreen Christmas trees have become the symbol of the holiday season. That’s why smaller versions of classic evergreen varietiesas in pine, spruce, or other evergreen branches, are good choices for the vertical elements in a holiday container.
B. Dwarf Evergreens
Naturally compact evergreens are termed dwarf and look like miniature Christmas trees. They make great living thriller elements for holiday containers. Here are some of the best options to consider:
- Small cultivars of dwarf Alberta spruce trees (Picea glauca) evergreens, like ‘Tiny Tower’, which matures to 5 feet (2m) or ‘Jean’s Dilly’ which grows to 2.5 feet (1m).
- Dwarf Hinoki cypress (Chamaecyparis obtuse) ‘Nana’, which matures to 3 feet (1m) tall, ‘Sungold’ for golden needles, or ‘Nana Gracilis’ for soft, feathery green needles.
C. Tall Birch or Painted Twigs
Of course, some people feel that enough is enough when it comes to evergreen boughs. If you are one of them, you can try using tall birch twigs, either in their natural state or painted frosty white. These are equally eye-catching and evoke the holiday spirit. You can find them at craft shops, or you can buy mixed birch twigs and natural dried cattails at Amazon to create a vivid seasonal splash.
2. The Filler: Volume and Texture
(Image credit: Philippe Gerber / Getty Images)
As a writer, the word ‘filler’ is not a term I like, since it indicates that you padded a story just to increase the length. For creative container designsit is aldo intended to add volume. But in this context, it makes the display lush and textured. You don’t just want those thriller plants standing alone in an otherwise empty container. Try one or more of these planting partners for a visually stimulating yet thoughtful display:
A. Broadleaf Evergreens (Holly or Magnolia)
Broadleaf evergreens are plants that have leaves, not needles, yet hold onto them year round. These provide great contrast to needled evergreen thrillers. Good examples of this type of plant are holly and magnolia. Weave some holly or magnolia branches around your thriller stems.
B. Pinecones and Berries
Fill up those containers with natural accents like pinecones and clusters of bright berries. Their texture and color provide the contrast you are looking for. It’s perfectly ok to use artificial ones if you can’t collect the real thing. You can pick up branches of vibrant red berries from Amazonwhich come with pine branches.
C. Boxwood or Cedar (Arborvitae) Cuttings
Both boxwood and arborvitae are evergreens, but their foliage is very different from typical Christmas-tree cuttings. That’s why they make good fillers in Christmas containers. Contrast is what you are looking for! Just be mindful about space. Think about overall container scale, and save some room for trailing features, which brings us onto our next element.
3. The Spiller: Trailing and Softness
(Image credit: lillisphotography / Getty Images)
When it comes to spillers, think of waterfalls. They cascade over a cliff, while spillers in a container trail gracefully over the edge of the pot, creating a sense of softness and of movement. What’s a good filler? Here are some of my favorites:
A. Ivy or Vinca (Live)
Both English ivy and vinca are popular trailing groundcovers that tend to grow out of control in the garden. That makes them perfect for the spiller role in a Christmas container. Their leaves are completely different from those of the evergreen thriller elements. Also, the fact that they can be transplanted into the container means that they won’t wilt anytime soon.
B. Flexible Boughs (Juniper/Cedar)
Layer in slender, flexible evergreen boughs as spillers in your festive container. Prune these boughs to different lengths before setting them at an angle around the outside of the pot. This creates a fountain-like design, filled with softness and movement.
C. Ribbons or Artificial Garland
While the current trend is to use natural objects to create Christmas containers, you can achieve the spiller effect with anything that flows, droops or cascades. Ribbons can be used to great effect here, and artificial garlands are also ideal. They add color and texture, look lovely, and never wilt! For something a little lush and desirable, buy MayReel copper crushed wired velvet ribbon from Amazon – I love the wide 4-inch (10cm) dimensions and multidirectional shimmer.
Don’t Forget – Best Care for Winter Pots
(Image credit: Sanghwan Kim / Getty Images)
For any live elements that you are including in your thriller filler spiller pots, use a high-quality potting mix like Miracle-Gro Potting Mix for Shrubs from Amazonor a potting soil that drains well. Make sure the container has good drainage holes. Check your plant’s specific needs, as some plants need slightly more acidic potting mixes. Soil dries out more quickly in pots, so water planters more than you would if they were in the ground (even allowing for winter).
Depending on your USDA planting zonecertain plants get colder in winter than those with their roots in the ground. Consider plant jackets such as GiaOne Winter Plant Pot Frost Protectors from Walmart to keep festive showpieces going strong as winter bites and temperatures really plummet.
Use a soil meter like Raintrip 4-in-1 Soil Meter from Amazon to identify nutrient conditions as well as moisture levels and also soil pH in your containers, which may help with plant selections. With all these considerations met, you’re ready to transform your patio, balcony or porch with these festive thriller spiller filler combinations.
(Image credit: James Andrews / Getty Images)
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