My Winter Window Box - A Simple Tutorial

 

 

I finished adding some winter greenery to my front window box this morning. I worked on it all week in small 20-30 minutes intervals while Cooper was napping. As soon as he would close his eyes I would run downstairs, throw on my winter gear, and head outside with the baby monitor. It worked out because breaking it up into small chunks of time ensured that I didn't die of hypothermia while I was out there. It's soooo cold out already. Brrrrrrrrrr.

 

 

 

The first thing I did was empty my window box of all the dead summer plants. I pulled out the root balls where I could but made sure to leave enough soil along the bottom of the box to stick the evergreen branches in.

 

 

Once the window box was cleaned up, I bundled up in about ten layers of clothing and headed out into the bush to practice my lumberjack skills. I brought some extra large leaf bags and some tree snips with me. I went to a secret location (heh heh heh) near my house that has an abundance of pine and fir trees. I filled up about three extra large leaf bags with pine and fir branches. Don't worry, I made sure to trim only a few branches per tree so that I wouldn't damage them!

 

Next, I brought out a step ladder and started filling up the box with the pine branches. I started with a row along the back of the window box. I was really selective with these and made sure to choose ones that were really sturdy and upright.

 

 

Once I filled the box with a row of pine branches all along the back, I added another row along the front. This time I chose branches that were a bit curved, or droopy so that they would hang over the edge a bit. Once I had a both rows finished, I added a few extra branches here and there where it was a little bit sparse. 

 

 

Once I had the box quite filled up with pine branches, I added some fir branches. Similarly, I went along and added some tall, sturdy pieces about 3/4 of the way from the front of the box. Then I added some smaller fir pieces about 1/4 of the way from the front of the box.

 

Even though my neighbours have some giant cedar trees, I decided not to give their bushes a haircut and went to a local greenhouse to purchase a small bundle  of cedar branches for $6.99.

 

Since I only had a few pieces of cedar, I spread them out evenly and tucked them in amongst the rest of the greenery. I like how they add a little bit of contrast with the dark greens.

 

 

Once all of my branches were in place I took a trip to Michael's and purchased a roll of burlap garland for $7.99.

 

I wanted to wrap the burlap around the window box like a present! I tried to use a roll of Alex's super duper strength tuck tape to tape the garland to the window box but the cold and wet snow were working against me.

 

 

 

Since I think I was getting frostbite by this point, I went inside and found a hammer and some finishing nails.

 

 

 I used the finishing nails to secure two long pieces of burlap garland to each side of the window box.

 

 

I tried to bring both pieces of burlap together at the front of the box to tie a giant bow but the garland kept drooping all over the place.

Instead, I used the extra-sticky, red tuck tape to secure both pieces of garland together in the front of the box. Next, I made a big bow with an extra piece of burlap and secured it in front of the red tuck tape with some more finishing nails.

 

I am still trying to decide if I want to add some lights to the box or not. I know they will look pretty at night but I'm afraid the wires will be too obvious during the day. What do you think? Lights or no lights?

Updated to Add:

The hydrangea bushes underneath the window box usually look really full and pretty with all of the dried blooms but alas the freakiest hailstorm ever smashed them to bits. That's why they look so strange.

Also, I've been really into holiday decorating with natural elements in shades of white, green, and brown lately. So I purposefully left out any red berries, ornaments, or bling in general. :)

 

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