Six Rockin Red Plants for Winter Gardens

With a little planning, it’s possible to have bold, beautiful red in the garden year-round. What a difference color makes during the colder months, when there’s little to catch the eye. If you’ve made a New Year’s resolution to bring more pizzazz to your outdoor spaces or want to design now for a winter garden next year, here’s my list of top plants with colorful berries or branches for cold climates, along with recommendations for how to use them.

Paintbox Garden

Sparkleberry Winterberry
(Ilex ‘Sparkleberry’)

This cultivar produces bright red fruits that attract birds during winter. Plant with Ilex ‘Apollo’ (the male cultivar) for the best fruit set. Use it as a small tree if space is limited.

Origin: This is the female cultivar of the eastern U.S. native.
Where it will grow: Hardy to -20 degrees Fahrenheit (USDA zones 5 to 9; find your zone)
Water requirement: Medium to wet soil
Light requirement: Full sun to partial shade
Mature size: 5 to 9 feet tall
Benefits and tolerances: Tolerates wet soils; attracts birds

Paintbox Garden

Winter Red Winterberry
(Ilex verticillata ‘Winter Red’)

This is a better selection for gardeners in cold regions — and it’s more compact. The male cultivar for this plant is I. ‘Southern Gentleman’. It makes for an eye-catching border and is very low maintenance.

Burke Brothers Landscape Design/Build

For winter containers branches of winterberry holly look fantastic mixed with pine boughs, fir tips and other evergreens, and they last a long time indoors, too.

In the landscape birds will eat the red berries — watch for robins, cardinals, juncoes, grosbeaks and cedar waxwings.

Origin: This is the female cultivar of the eastern U.S. native.
Where it will grow: Hardy to -40 degrees Fahrenheit (zones 3 to 9)
Water requirement: Medium to wet soil
Light requirement: Full sun to partial shade
Mature size: 6 to 8 feet tall
Benefits and tolerances: Adapted to swamps and wetlands; attracts birds

English Holly
(Ilex aquifolium)

There are male and female plants in the species; both flower, but the females produce berries. In the Pacific Northwest, this species is listed as invasive, so check with your local cooperative extension office before you buy.

Origin: Europe
Where it will grow: Hardy to 0 degrees Fahrenheit (zones 7 to 9)
Water requirement: Medium soil
Light requirement: Full sun to partial shade
Mature size: 30 to 50 feet
Benefits and tolerances: Attracts birds; you can shear it to make a hedge

Paintbox Garden

Redtwig Dogwood
(Cornus sericea ‘Baileyi’)

With its colorful branches, redtwig dogwood makes an outstanding focal point in winter, especially when paired with ornamental grasses.

Kim Gamel

What would a winter container be without a dash of red? I love birch branches, but they are hard to find and break easily. Use redtwig dogwood instead, adding it to your pots by the entry or front porch; the branches can also be trimmed and added to smaller arrangements indoors, too.

Origin: This is a cultivar of the eastern U.S. native.
Where it will grow: Hardy to -40 degrees Fahrenheit (zones 3 to 8)
Water requirement: Medium to wet soil
Light requirement: Full sun
Mature size: 6 to 10 feet tall
Benefits and tolerances:Attracts birds; deer resistant; good for erosion control, as a screen plant and in a rain garden

Paintbox Garden

Donald Wyman Crabapple 
(Malus ‘Donald Wyman’)

The crabapple tree in my yard is loaded with bright red berries that attract scores of birds, including flocks of cedar waxwings.

Origin: Discovered at Arnold Arboretum at Harvard University
Where it will grow: Hardy to -30 degrees Fahrenheit (zones 4 to 8)
Water requirement: Medium soil
Light requirement: Full sun
Mature size: 20 feet tall and wide
Benefits and tolerances: Spring flowers; the fruit attracts wildlife; has good disease resistance

Paintbox Garden

Winter King Hawthorne
(Crataegus viridis ‘Winter King’)

Named a Gold Medal Plant by the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, this award-winningcultivar is noteworthy for its abundant fruit.

Paintbox Garden

Any tree that looks this good in the middle of winter deserves applause. ‘Winter King’ is in a class of its own with a great form and year-round interest.

There are thorns, but thankfully the tree requires practically no pruning. Interestingly, birds much prefer crabapples and winterberries and leave this fruit on the branch.

Origin: This is a cultivar of the southeastern U.S. native.
Where it will grow: Hardy to -30 degrees Fahrenheit (zones 4 to 7)
Water requirement: Dry to medium soil
Light requirement: Full sun
Mature size: 25 feet tall and wide
Benefits and tolerances: Attractive spring flowers; disease resistant; pollution tolerant

-Charlotte Albers

SOURCE

http://www.americanhomecontractors.com/blog

Gift Wrapping Ideas that add a Personal Touch

Have you ever received a gift so beautifully wrapped that you didn’t open it right away, but let it sit unopened so you could admire it a little longer? There is something heart warming about receiving a gift that has been wrapped creatively with extra loving care. For me the time taken to wrap a gift beautifully, with added personal touches, is almost as important as the present itself. This holiday season why not try a more personalized approach to wrapping and inject more meaning into your gift giving? Here are some unique and simple ideas to get you started. 

RedAgape Blog

Letters

I get a warm and fuzzy feeling when I receive gifts that are wrapped especially for me. Nothing says personalized like adding initials to your wrapping. The options for adding letters are endless! You can use washi tape, precut letters, cards or wire, to name just a few.

This gift features a rich red letter “A” printed on a white card. The Christmas bauble is a festive addition to a classically wrapped present.

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There is no need to purchase special items or have letters professionally printed. You can print letters in any size, color or font straight from your computer, making it an affordable way to add a personal touch to your gift giving.

Metallic gold thread and bells, combined with the letter “T” here, make for a thoughtfully wrapped gift.

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Paper Silhouettes

Silhouettes of family members are easy to create and make a striking addition to a present. It would make a great game at Christmas, as everyone tries to work out which present belongs to which person.

Don’t restrict yourself to silhouettes of people — you could use silhouettes of objects, shapes or letters to represent the interests of different people.

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Bonus Gift

You can add a little something extra: a gift on top of your gift. Including trinkets as gift toppers will surprise and delight the recipients. Choose trinkets that suit the recipient, like cookie cutters for the baking enthusiast or jars of glitter for the craft junkie. The Christmas-themed cookie cutters adorning these silver presents are pretty as well as practical.

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A monogrammed wax seal and wax sticks have been attached to this gift with string and tape. There is no need to wrap these separately when they look so stylish on top of this present.

RedAgape Blog

Photos as Gift Tags

I like to use photos as gift toppers or tags. This is a simple way to highly personalize your gift wrapping.

This photograph of a young boy, featuring creams and browns, is beautifully combined with brown kraft paper. It is used as a tag on top of this gift, helping to identify the owner, so there is no confusion about who this present belongs to.

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Don’t restrict yourself to using photos of faces — images of places that are meaningful to the recipient can be equally as effective. Photos like these, from a treasured family holiday, are a meaningful way to add a touch of nostalgia to your gift giving.

RedAgape Blog

Personal Objects

Think outside the box and try to include objects with meaning or personal items that will charm your recipient. These Christmas tree–shaped tags are made from old road maps and show places that both the giver and receiver have visited together.

Use a Christmas tree template, a tag or a cookie cutter to outline the shape onto the paper and simply cut it out. It is an affordable and easy method for reusing old paper as personalized tags.

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Clothes, hankies or scarves that can no longer be worn can be used to wrap gifts. This works particularly well with children’s clothes, as they outgrow them so quickly.

It doesn’t matter if the colors are not traditionally Christmas themed, because tags, ribbons and present toppers can be added for a festive feel.

Meredith Ericksen

Forage From the Garden

Collecting branches, leaves or feathers from the garden is an affordable option for adding embellishments to your presents. Gift wrapping can still be beautiful even with budget constraints; you just have to be a little creative with your ideas.

This present, featuring a simple twig with berries, still feels festive and pretty, despite the lack of Christmas paper. It is an ideal gift topper for gardeners or lovers of the great outdoors.

Jeni Lee

Even these wilted flowers look pretty combined with these soft pastel shades. There is beauty in imperfection, so don’t feel pressured to achieve picture-perfect wrapping.

RedAgape Blog

Focus on Interests and Hobbies

It is a nice feeling when others respect and value our interests and try to incorporate what we love into their gift giving. Choose wrapping, ribbons or toppers that recipients will instantly be drawn to.

These gifts, decorated with vintage sheet music, would be perfect for a musician or general music lover. Christmas carol music would be particularly suitable for the festive season.

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This gift wrapped in crisp, white paper and topped with a red crochet heart tag would suit any yarn lover and maintains a festive feel — as does the polka dot bow tie.

-Amanda O'Sullivan

SOURCE

http://www.americanhomecontractors.com/blog

How to Cover Windows Above a Radiator

If you live in a home with radiators, you know how tricky it can be to choose window treatments with those big, blocky structures in the way — especially if you have your heart set on curtains. From working with layers to the dos and don’ts of short curtains, these pointers will help you navigate your options.

Rikki Snyder

Stationary curtain panels + wood blinds. With a large radiator cover in the way, hanging regular floor-length curtains that can close is simply not possible. One way around this is to hang the floor-length curtains you want but use stationary panels (meaning they do not close). A second window treatment, like the wood blinds shown here, will let you adjust the levels of sunlight and privacy.

fo design

Cellular shades + ceiling track curtains. Cellular shades, particularly those that can be lowered from the top down, are a great option for adjusting light levels without sacrificing privacy. Instead of using traditional curtain rods, consider curtains on a ceiling-mounted track system. In the right space, this can be a clever way to include curtains that fully close, even with a large radiator in the way.

Holly Marder

Floor-length curtains + roller shades. In the bedroom, where privacy and complete darkness at night are more important than adjusting sun levels during the day, try roller shades with blackout liners and layer a set of floor-length curtains on top.

Tip: Hang curtains on extended rod brackets. Floor-length curtains hung in front of a smaller radiator may be able to close with the help of extended brackets that hold the curtains away from the wall.

Rajni Alex Design

Woven shades + floor-length curtains. This combination is good when you want a more finished look, like in a formal dining room. It really doesn’t matter if you can’t close the curtains — this look is all about the contrast between textured shades and lush drapery.

Beth Bourque Design Studio

Short curtains. Short curtains are a style choice that can be quite divisive — most people find they either like windowsill-length curtains or can’t stand them. As a general rule, more casual spaces, like a child’s room or a den, take better to short curtains.

If your heart is set on doing short curtains in the living room, try to avoid heavy fabrics and intense colors, which would call attention to the hovering curtains. Instead, you could do rumpled white linen curtains, hemmed to break on top of the radiator covers, for a very casual look.

Rebecca Hayes Interiors

Shutters. Wood shutters don’t have to look old-fashioned; in crisp white, they are classic — and practical, too. Open just the top shutters to let in light while preserving privacy, or open them all. Shutters work best on their own, so if you want to add curtains too, it’s better to go with wood blinds.

Roman blinds. Roman blinds are a classic choice that always works. But they are especially smart in the bath and bedroom, where you need the most privacy, and in the kitchen, where curtains would get in the way of cooking.Roman blinds also work well layered with floor-length drapes for an elegant look.

Holly Marder

Mixing window treatments in the same room. If you have radiators under just some windows in your room, one option is to treat the windows differently. Take this space, for example: Roller shades are used on the windows with radiators, while drapers are used for the glass doors. When mixing window treatments, make sure the colors and patterns coordinate — when in doubt, keep things simple with white and solid neutrals. - Laura Gaskill

SOURCE

http://www.americanhomecontractors.com/blog

20 DIY Ornaments to Give or Keep

If your branches appear a little bare or your packages need a little sprucing up, or if you’ve swapped more cookies than your teeth or stomach can bear, consider a homemade Christmas ornament or two. 

We’ve collected some favorite DIY ornaments that won’t break the bank or your patience but will still bring out your holiday crafter. From felted toadstools to plaster doughnuts, these are sure to make this Christmas memorable. Click the links below for the full instructions, or just revel in their cuteness.

Felted egg and toadstool ornament. Maybe it’s the association with elves that makes a toadstool seem classically Christmasy. This mini felted ornament from 54 Stitches brings the woodland to your tree in a few easy steps. 

Angled starburst ornament. Sometimes cut and folded paper is all you need, and Denise Sharp has created a pretty amazing template for Poppytalk. Metallic paper adds a festive touch, but you can customize with your own paper.

Paper reindeer ornament. It wouldn’t be Christmas without reindeer, and this mini faux taxidermy reindeer is a nice update on the theme. Miranda Anderson from One Little Minute even includes a helpful pattern printout that only requires you to swap out the paper in your printer and cut around the dots. 

Dried citrus ornament. Looking for a fresher way to decorate the tree? Mandi Johnson of A Beautiful Messshows us that food ornaments don’t have to include cranberries and popcorn. These baked citrus slices look good and smell great.

Message in an ornament. Who doesn’t love a message in a bottle? While these ornaments by Tan Rutley of Squirrelly Minds are designed as part of an Advent calendar, they could be a great way to exchange personalized Christmas notes or coupons. 

Felted macaroon ornament. Macaroons are among the chicest desserts, so it makes sense that they would make some of the cutest ornaments. Hannah Wareham shows us how on The Homesteady. And a dozen of these will last much longer than the ones from Ladurée.

Himmeli ornament. Scandinavian design feels especially timely around Christmas. The himmeli, a traditional Finnish Christmas decoration, is customarily hung above the dining table to ensure a good crop in the coming year. Aside from being a symbol for a family’s livelihood, these decorations are also quite beautiful. This one, from Rachel Denbow of Smile and Wave, uses geometric paper straws. 

Hardware ornament. For the antithesis of the natural Christmas tree, Kate Albrecht of Mr. Kate shows us to how to make machine-age ornaments by mixing and matching painted hardware parts. 

“Home sweet home” ornament. There’s no place like home for the holidays. Brittni Mehlhoff of Paper & Stitch uses graphic wallpaper samples to personalize mini houses.

Cinnamon stick tree ornament. Here’s another holiday craft from Melhoff. While these may not be the ornaments that get handed down through generations, there’s something kind of sweet about a tree on a tree. The simple shape makes these trees versatile — you could even string them as a garland or use them as a place setting. The cinnamon scent pairs nicely with that of pine. 

Cactus ornament. Mandi Gubler of Vintage Revivals has created a mini desert snowscape inside classic glass ornaments. While she experimented with salt in this example, fine white sand could be a longer-lasting alternative. Plant the cuttings once the holidays are over, and your ornaments can live long after the tree is gone. 

Ornament cluster. Combine store-bought globe ornaments to create a more dramatic ornament cluster. Gwen Hefner of The Makerista put about 12 gold and silver ornaments from the craft store on a piece of wire to make these easy, chic hybrids.

Faceted gemstone ornament. Diamonds at Christmas are always a welcome treat, and this piece, made with thread and wood, makes it easy to spread the wealth. Marlene Sauer of Jade and Fern offers some templates to get you started, but these graphic ornaments could easily take on any shape. 

Gold-dipped ornament. Sometimes an update on a classic is all you need to give your tree new flavor. Tara from Suburble has painted porcelain ornaments with gold paint and hung them from red ribbon to dress up a basic.

Paper ball ornament. Here’s another ornament using paper and a lot of folds. If you’re already looking for ways to reuse your holiday cards or still have last year’s saved in your house, this is your project. Amy Johnson of Maker Mama shows how to make an intricate-looking ball ornament that requires only a lot of paper circles and some strategic folding. 

Glitter tassel animal ornament. Who wouldn’t want to see a glittery llama hanging from the tree year after year? For A Subtle Revelry, Brittni Mehlhoffturned ordinary plastic toy animals into festive party animals using silver paint and tissue paper tassels. You don’t even need a special occasion to hang these up. 

Doughnut ornament. Kelly Lanza at Studio DIY shows us that you don’t have to use green and red to be festive. This plaster of paris doughnut ornament really reimagines holiday decor, in the best way — just look at the pink tree it’s hanging on. Don’t limit yourself to pink frosting and sprinkles. Maybe consider a variety pack of doughnut ornaments, from chocolate to vanilla to something more unusual, like green tea. 

Clay house ornament. Clay ornaments are a pretty classic holiday DIY project, but these ornaments by Ez Pudewa of Creature Comforts offer a little more neighborly connection. Hang one on your own tree or share with friends and neighbors to let them know you’re thinking of them. Pudewa even includes a printable template. 

Log slice chalkboard ornament. The chalkboard paint trend may have peaked, but I don’t think it’s leaving soon. These log slice ornaments by Shauna Oberg of Satori Design for Livingwould make perfect holiday gift tags, and you can reuse them year after year. 

Paper ball ornament. These paper ball ornaments from Nalle’s House add to an understated Christmas tree — or a stylish Scandinavian version of Charlie Brown’s Christmas tree. - Annie Thornton

SOURCE

http://www.americanhomecontractors.com/blog