Maybe it’s all the Christmases of past that were spent in Williamsburg. Or the two trips to Germany and Austria when I fell in love with overstuffed window boxes. Maybe it’s the fact that we live in an old house with original shutters and window boxes that my Dad made. Whatever the reason, I have an overwhelming desire to hunt, gather and stuff this time of year…in a natural, green way. I feel that we owe the window boxes some companionship through the cold winter months when they miss their summer flowers.
If you look around your yard, you may find the same – boxwoods that need to be thinned, scotch broom that should be cut closer to the ground so that it can withstand the harsh winter wind, holly trees that need shaping. It doesn’t take the best or biggest branches to make fat overstuffed window boxes and they are simple to do. Every scrawny twig finds its place to fill in the gaps. Just be sure to push the branches in securely so that they won’t blow away.
In the summer, I love to throw open the windows and catch the breeze, but in winter, I feel comforted when I look out and the house is embraced by the branches in my window boxes!
