One of the best ways to invite customers into your business is with visual interest that helps your premises stand out from its surroundings. In Minnesota, this becomes all the more important in winter, when rooftops, sidewalks, and everything in between is often caked with snow, ice, and slush. A great way to bring curb appeal to your local business is by placing beautiful winter containers out front.
Creating winter containers isn’t as easy as making amazing summer or fall containers. Flowers and most other plants aren’t hardy enough to survive the sub-zero temperatures of a Minnesota winter, forcing containers to rely on pruned branches and other sources of visual appeal. Continue reading if you’d like some tips for how to piece together eye-catching winter containers for your business in the Twin Cities metro.
How to Make an Amazing Winter Container
Try these handy tips to create a fantastic winter container that turns the head of every person passing your business.
- Incorporate Thriller, Fillers & Spillers
Appealing container design involves the strategic combination of three distinct types of plants: thrillers, fillers, and spillers. Thrillers are tall and striking plants that serve as the centerpiece of your winter container. Fillers are mid-height plants that add texture and substance to your container. Spillers are plants that hang down over the edge of your container. Here are some suggested thrillers, fillers, and spillers for a winter container for a Twin Cities business:
- Thrillers: Birch branches, curly willow branches, red twig dogwood
- Fillers: Eucalyptus, fraser fir, holly, winterberry
- Spillers: Ruscus, trailing junipers
- Make Hardy Choices
The last thing you want is to spend hours meticulously building a gorgeous winter container just to have half your plants die overnight. If you are using any live plants in your winter container, make sure they’re hardy enough to survive temperatures below freezing. Generally, it’s best to use the branches of cold-hardy plants in winter containers in Minnesota. Pines, furs, cedars, dogwoods, and willows are examples of native trees with branches that can be used to craft beautiful winter containers for your business.
- Make It Colorful
One weakness of many winter containers is that they contain a lot of green, and not much else in the way of color. While it’s okay to primarily rely on evergreens for your winter container, be sure to contrast them by throwing in some other colors, such as red twig dogwood, white birch or holly with red berries. Remember that you don’t have to limit yourself to organic materials; you can also include bows of all different colors to make your winter container livelier. To add a little whimsy, you may also want to incorporate ornaments or decorative figures like snowmen or gnomes.
- Use Lighting
To maintain the curb appeal of your business after dark, include lighting in your winter containers. Wrapping string lights around accents in your winter containers can create a festive look. Other lighting solutions, such as LED stake lights, may also be incorporated in your winter containers to make your business more inviting to visitors after dark. Depending on the vibe you’re aiming for, you can use multi-colored holiday lights or more subtle lights that give off a warm glow.
- Pick the Right Planters
The planters you use to create your winter containers are just as important as the plants and other features that you choose to decorate them with. Harsh winter weather in the Twin Cities can be an obstacle to using certain types of planters, which may crack or decay in the cold. Your business should use sturdy, cold-resistant planters built from materials like fiberglass or metal. Whatever planters you choose for your winter containers, it’s a good idea to weigh them down with sand or gravel to prevent them from toppling over during windstorms.
- Incorporate Branding
Placing winter containers outside your business in the Twin Cities can help with branding as well as curb appeal. If possible, consider creating an arrangement that matches the colors of your company’s logo. To take it a step further, you could try placing an ornament or a chalkboard sign with your business’s logo in the winter container.
Custom Winter Containers for Your Twin Cities Business
Would you like to have top-quality custom winter containers created for your business by a team of professionals? Contact Ground One today if you’re in need of custom winter container design services for your business in the Twin Cities metro area!