Botanic gardens and arboreta in the Northeast, especially those in USDA hardiness zones 3-7 experience long cold winters which can deprive them of visitorship during the colder months from late October to mid April due to their dormant landscapes. Seasonal displays, notably winter and early spring botanical displays offer great opportunities to create interest and a reason for visitors to visit botanic gardens during these colder dormant months. Information gathered from 6 botanic gardens was used to inform and develop a protocol for creating a prototype of a winter and early spring display at Cornell Botanic Gardens. This prototype and protocol serves as a model for botanic gardens as to how they can create a sustainably-developed botanical display in the winter and early spring months.