Seasonal entryways

Southwest ranch

In a design that makes use of items available at floral-supply and craft stores, bold desert plants pair with deep burgundy pots to bring a festive look to a Southwest-style house.

Wreath

1. Accent a manzanita wreath by poking Spanish moss and green-painted canella berries into the stems.

2. Insert the stems of pincushion proteas into floral water tubes.

Use 6-inch pieces of 22-gauge wire to tie floral tubes into wreath, hiding them with moss or other greens.

Accents

1. Transplant lush green Carex tumulicola from 1-gallon cans into the soil around the base of a succulent such as giant yucca ( Yucca elephantipes).

2. Place 8-inch-tall, 3-inch-thick white pillar candles on spiked candle holders and gently set them in 5-gallon Aloe vera plants or grasslike sedge.

3. Use 22-gauge wire to tie canella berries and branches of creosote bush (called tiger branches at florists) to posts. ― Sara Luce Jamison and Lauren Bonar Swezey