Dishfunctional Designs: The Upcycled Garden In Winter

This has been a tough winter for many of us this year. Here where I live in Pennsylvania we got a hefty 30 inches of snow in one storm, and of course once we finally got that cleared away just enough to use our driveways and walkways we got three to four more inches on top of that, and then a few days later another two! I'll be glad once it's gone and we can get back to beautiful spring and summer, but in the meantime, I thought I'd put together a winter version of my Upcycled Garden blog posts.

As you'll see in some of the photos below, we can still enjoy our garden art through a little bit of ice and snow. If anything, it serves as a reminder of what's beneath it all when it melts! And of course, there's always birds to feed. Once the ground is covered with cold, they often have a hard time finding food, so be sure to keep those bird feeders full!

Garden chandelier in winter from Joy Source Gardening

Hanging baskets can still be pretty in the winter snow and ice! Remember, solar lights work in winter too!

Create a winter bird wreath like this one with DIY instructions from Our Fairfield Home & Garden

Create evergreen ice bowls for votive candles. photo by Bjørn Johan Stenersen (above and below)

Evergreens, pine, holly, and winter berries make great additions to the ice

Ice wreath photo by Better Homes & Gardens via Pinterest

Here's how to create an ice wreath: Place a custard cup or other similar cup with a bit of weight to it in the center of the pan (or use a tube pan such as a Bundt cake pan if you have one) assemble berries and greenery in the pie plate around the custard cup. Cranberries, evergreens such as pine, holly, small pinecones, sunflower seeds all work great. Fill the pan with water (except for the center cup) and freeze. Once frozen solid, carefully remove the custard cup and pie plate. If pie plate is stuck to ice, dip the bottom of the pan in warm water for just a moment and then try to remove again. Hang outside in the cold with twine or ribbon.