As we make plans for our holiday season, decorations for both indoor and outside ornamentation are high on the list. Even better, they can make great gifts for nearly anyone. There might already be hangers in place from hanging baskets that served their purpose during spring and summer. This provides a great opportunity to create holiday garden baskets now.
Greenery to Use in Hanging Christmas Baskets
Add varying types of greenery to some of the baskets. These may be sprayed with snow or allowed to display naturally, with some adding fragrance. Evergreen boughs with cones, holly with berries, along with pine and traditional cedar boughs and branches are perfect additions to festive Christmas hanging baskets.
You could also use fan clubmoss or running cedar as part of these displays for the holiday. Remain consistent so none of the baskets add an abrupt feel to the flow of your decorations.
Juniper plant varieties are great for use as a base for holiday arrangements. Of the different types, there is likely one or a few native to your zone. All junipers produce cones, which is another must have addition when crafting hanging baskets for Christmas. These produce blue colored berries at the stem’s end.
Assembling a Holiday Basket to Hang
The sturdiest way to put a hanging basket together is to plant cut stems into soil. While they won’t have time to root, branches should remain healthy throughout the holiday season. Mist from time to time to keep them fresh. You can mix them up or use predominantly the same type of foliage in each basket. Use a variety of heights, locating the taller ones first throughout the basket, then fill in with smaller stemmed cuttings. Leave room for a few cones.
Combine these with Christmas balls in silver, blue, and red and scatter throughout the basket. Candy canes cascading from the sides are attractive, as are miniature lights in blue or white shades. You may add a rounded globe over the greenery and put lights inside for a luminaria affect.
Hanging Basket Holiday Decoration with Succulents
Plant and grow a hanging basket outside with seasonally coordinated colors of succulents. Lots of reds and greens are available, even if it takes some of the cold temperatures to promote the red. Some sempervivums, like ‘Ruby Heart’ and ‘Hart 8,’ take on red coloring at the base or in bands around the appropriate time. ‘Spring Beauty’ has reddish outer leaves. ‘Cosmic Candy,’ an attractive webbed hen, turns deep red as temperatures drop.
Stone crop sedum are hardy as well, and some varieties grow in vibrant, striking shades of red in cold weather. Dragon’s blood has shades of red foliage year-round, as does the cultivar called ‘Red Carpet.’ ‘Fuldaglut’ also turns a deep red in cold temperatures.
Combine these with varieties that remain green through winter for a holiday hanging basket that can last all year. Add bows and ribbons for a holiday touch. Hang proudly or gift the basket to someone else.