Make your porch, patio, or front yard look more festive and in tune with the holidays by decorating your plant containers. For a perfect plant container, ensure these three elements are present: thriller, spiller, and filler.

Use twigs and dried branches.
If you have low-lying evergreen in your plant container, spruce it up by erecting twigs or dried branches in its midst. The evergreen serves as your spiller, and the dried branches as your thriller. For fillers, this rustic setup now only needs hints of red which can be provided by either small red Christmas balls or ribbons. You can also dress the branch with twinkling lights for a colorful impact at night. Whichever way you go, we’re sure you’ll have a merry plant container spreading cheer from its corner.

Decorate your plant even if it’s only bare branches.
If your seasonal plant has shed almost all of its leaves, then all the better as it can easily serve as the thriller. Wrap holiday garlands, hang Christmas balls made from dry and woven strands of rattan or any natural thread, and use these as the fillers for your container. As for a spiller, you can have the balls also populate the ground of the container.

Prop up Christmas gifts in the containers.
In this décor setup, you have the gifts acting as the thriller. Stack it up. Fill the sides with dried conifers, Christmas balls or evergreen. Lastly, tie a ribbon around it and style it to be your spiller.

These are just 3 ways to decorate your plant containers this holiday season. Be creative and inventive in your own plant containers by having a thriller, filler, and spiller present in your plant container and see how your front yard, porch or patio easily thrills, fills, and spills holiday cheer.

While everybody else is busy taking out all the holiday décor out of their storage rooms and bedecking every nook and cranny of their homes with festive ornaments, you might be sighing and thinking how you can invoke the spirit of the holiday season without too much clutter. This is why we’re giving you 5 one-ornament ideas for your patio design that’ll surely usher in the holiday vibe without the clutter.

Stars

Huge star lanterns, minimalist star formed using twigs and spare branches, star created with sparkling decorative garlands—the possibilities and looks are endless. Make it look more glamorous and glitzier than Hollywood’s Avenue of Stars with a multitude of stars in different shapes and sizes littered all over your indoor and outdoor spaces.

Christmas Lights

If you feel stars on its own lack enough sparkle to dazzle everyone, use Christmas lights as your main design element instead. If you have a tree or shrub that has shed its leaves for the year, bring it back to life with Christmas lights. You can also form your lights into different ornaments like gifts, stars, a gingerbread, or, if Frosty the Snowman. We’re sure everyone passing by your home will be delighted to see your sparkling holiday setup.

Plant containers

Fill your entryway, pathway, and outdoor spaces with hints of the Christmas theme of your choice by placing plant containers all over. And yes, a green-and-red color combination is not the only theme you can have. Whether you are choosing gold, silver, orange and lime, purple and white, pink and white, you can choose whichever color combination makes your holiday season look brighter. Did we forget to mention there’s no need for real plants, too? You can simply choose artificial plants painted with these color combinations.

Whether you have a west- or east-facing backyard, we’ve got the perfect backyard patio idea for you. Find creative ideas that utilizes your backyard patio for different times of the day below!

Breakfast Patio

If your backyard is not in the direct pathway of the sunrise, consider creating a breakfast nook right in your backyard. Enjoy your breakfast more overlooking your garden as the early sunlight filters through your yard while the early morning breeze brings you tidings of good luck for the whole day ahead.

Outdoor Oasis

When you’ve just finished your busy day or week, retreat to an outdoor oasis. Fill your backyard with greenery, whether it’s a trellis privacy screen, beams with air plants or potted plants. An oasis would not be complete without an ambient soundtrack provided by either a water feature like a miniature fountain or stream or wind chimes.

Siesta Spot

If you’re fond of taking afternoon naps, and your backyard has enough shady spots to hang a hammock in, then explore converting your backyard into your al fresco siesta spot. Nothing beats a fresh breeze and the gentle humming of the birds and the bees to lull you to sleep for a quick power nap. Wake up feeling more refreshed and recharged to face the rest of the day.

Patio Bar

If sporting a drink or two is your way of relaxing after a day’s work, then having a patio bar to lounge at will make your recharging time more pleasant. You can have bar stools lined up which can easily be stacked together and put away when not in use. Your bar countertop can also double as a storage area for all your liquor and glassware. You can opt to have a shelf for your cooler or ice box or have a space customized for a small refrigerator. It can also be outfitted with a sink so washing and cleaning your glasses will be as easy as preparing a drink.

Stones are an underrated landscaping material. Mixed, matched and molded, stones can make a bold statement for your outdoor landscaping. Read on and find out how you can use stones to carve a beautiful and bold landscape for your outdoor area.

Gravel for the Pathway

This natural landscaping material gives texture to your outdoor area while also giving a minimalistic vibe. It seamlessly spills over and works with any garden you may have. Gravel doesn’t have to be gray all the time. Available in other shades such as earthy browns and volcanic blacks, gravel gives you a big, crunchy impact.

Boulders for a Bold Staircase

A slight nod to the Stonehenge, boulders can be placed on the perimeter of your deck or yard. Flat slabs can be fashioned into a grungy staircase and smaller ones can be fashioned into a calming fountain and brook. While installation may require more muscle, the resulting landscape will last and give you a rustic atmosphere.

Beach Pebbles for a Tropical Vibe

Going for a tropical vibe in your backyard doesn’t have to involve high maintenance grass as a ground cover. Beach pebbles easily cover a large area without the need for constant maintenance. They also set a stark contrast and great texture to the overall look of your yard.

Rock Pond

Give your water feature a more natural look by installing rocks as borders. This hides the artificial traces of the pond while framing the pond nicely, as if it’s an all-natural brook. It’s also better to choose light-colored rocks to provide great contrast against the dark pond. The rocks also highlight the pond when it can easily be overlooked.

Flagstone as Steppingstones

Encourage the sense of exploration with flagstone steppingstones laid in a haphazard manner. This design evokes a sense of minimalism while also directing foot traffic and keeping the rest of your yard or lawn free from oppressive footsteps.