Winter Blooms in Portland: Decorating the Home for the Holidays
How to Decorate Your Portland Home With Local Blooms for the Season
Whether you’ve grown accustomed to the gloomy Pacific Northwest winters or you just grin and bear the gray skies and few waning hours of daylight, adding winter-blooming plants and flowers to your space will greatly enhance your Portland home.
If you frequent your local New Seasons or neighborhood grocery store, you’ve undoubtedly eyed flowering kale or winter shrubs like witch hazel, but our region’s climate is conducive to growing many other varieties of winter blooms. Ready to lighten the mood and start decorating for the holidays? Here’s what you need to know about transforming your home with plants this winter.
Winter Blooms in Season
In the Pacific Northwest, we’re blessed to have an abundance of winter-blooming plants. Here are a few of our favorites:
Hellebores: Quick to bloom, the hellebores are an easy favorite. While this low-growing winter bloom comes in many varietals, we love the petite Christmas rose, with pristine white flowers. Pro tip: buy at least three hellebores; that way you can cultivate a bright spot of color to warn off winter gloom.
Sarcococca: Fragrant and elegant, sarcococca are evergreen and delightful. With threadlike white flowers, sarcococca reminds us of the things we love about winter – warm holiday scents and delicate spells of snow.
Euphorbia x Martinii: Also known as a ‘Rudolph' plant, the Euphorbia x Martinii offers a lovely pop of color and an unconventional touch to winter bouquets. The nickname for this plant stems from its bright red nose, which “shine[s] as bright as the beacon on the "real" Rudolph.” If you prefer to stray from conventional poinsettia arrangements (especially if you share the home with cats), then you’ll love this winter bloom.
These winter blooms are lovely, but make sure to shop for these beauties soon! Come spring, all you’ll see on these plants are the leaves. So now’s the perfect time to start shopping for winter blooms to adorn your home for the holidays – and the rest of winter.
Where to Shop for Winter Blooms in Portland
Whether you're buying a gift, decorating your home for the holidays, or treating yourself to a little greenery, it’s important to know where to shop for plants in Portland. Here are a few of our recommendations for where to find the best seasonal blooms:
Pistils: A beloved staple for all urban farmers, Pistils is a specialty plant shop where you’ll find both indoor and outdoor winter blooms. You can visit this nursery daily at their North Portland location at 3811 N. Mississippi Ave.
Solabee: Solabee, a mecca of flowers and botanicals, is another great spot to find local blooms in Portland. The shop believes that “the seasons, growers and farmers dictate availability,” making this a great place to find holiday blooms this winter.
Portland Nursery: With two accessible locations, the Portland Nursery is a well-established plant shop. Known for its century-long tradition of sourcing local plants, the Portland Nursery is your best bet for finding a wide variety of winter blooms.
Decorating Your Home for the Holidays
Not sure where to start when it comes to decorating your Portland home with these winter blooms? There’s a class for that. Many Portland locals, like work/shop, Tendue, and METAL + MOSS are offering holiday wreath classes that utilize local winter blooms - all levels are welcome!
Feeling ready to branch out on your own? Plant a few of these winter blooms in your garden, watch them thrive, and then create your own bouquets and centerpieces. These winter-loving plants will provide the perfect holiday touch this season. Happy foraging!