"People are filling them with exotic greenery accented with color and glitter," says Dale Konetschka, nursery manager at Gertens in Inver Grove Heights. Lacy Port Orford cedar, noble and Douglas fir, red canella berries and glitter-dipped branches are replacing ho-hum spruce tips and red-Osier dogwood.

"Boughs and garland roping are becoming much more fashionable," Konetschka says. "People are using a lot more branches, whether natural or dried. They're buying curly willow, birch dipped in moss or coated with champagne or red glitter and stems with nuts and berries."

Spruce tips and red and white pine are staples that provide a good foundation for outdoor decorating, Konetschka says, but they're not where growth has been over the past three years.

"Folks in town homes want color on their decks, and container gardening is easy to do and doesn't take up much space," he explains.

Gertens has responded to the growing demand by transforming its summer outdoor living barn into a greenery shop with dozens of types of stems and greenery.

"That's where the fun stuff is," Konetschka says. There are bright berries, including standards like rose hips, blue juniper berry, pink pepperberry and deep purple privet berry, along with some unusual varieties like red canella berry, red toyon berry, white tallow berry and purple American beautyberry.

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