Spruce Up Your Window Boxes

Happy November everyone!  With a thought of a deep freeze right around the corner, its a good idea to get those greens in the flower boxes.  If you wait they won't freeze in properly.  Then you will spend the winter going out into the cold and picking the greens up off the ground and trying to shove them back into a frozen container... it doesn't work!   With this being said, I have some ideas if you're on a budget!  I completed my flower boxes this winter and only spent $14.99 at Home Depot!  How cool is that???  Well, the rest of the greens which consisted of white pine, pine cones, pretty sticks, and long needled pine all came from foraging.  I did this while taking my dog for a walk over the weekend.  I didn't intend on finding such wonderful greens, but stumbled across them and couldn't bare to leave them there to not be used.  So... here are a few of my flower boxes...WINTERIZED:)

A couple helpful hints:

1) Keep the dirt that was in the flower boxes in the summer.  (Do not empty the container and replace with new soil). The reason for this is that the root base (which was established in the summer by the flowers) provides support for the spruce tops and other greens.  When you place the greens in they will stay more stable and will be less likely to fall out.

2) Make sure you water the greens in.  This is for two reasons really.  The first, is to supply water to the greens and keep them from drying out and turning brown.  The second, is when the dirt is wet and we have the inevitable freeze the greens will stay in tightly.

3) Use things you find!  It's amazing the things you can find just by taking a walk in the woods!  Make this a fun kid activity by telling them they are going "foraging"!  Chances are the kids won't know what the word means until its too late, lol!

4) Lastly, enjoy!  You can always add the holiday color later. The most important thing is to get the greens in early enough so they freeze in.


Larger Window!

Smaller window box!