HOW-TO TIPS

HOW-TO TIPS

Creating window boxes

Re-use the potting soil from your summer planters to anchor your arrangement. When the soil freezes, it’ll hold things in place. (If you need to swap out items, just bring the box inside for a few hours to let the soil thaw.)

Start with home-harvested greens or store-bought ones that “give a lot of bang for the buck, like Norway pine,” said Endres. Use pricier items (magnolia, eucalyptus, etc.) as accents.

Make kind cuts if you use greens from your yard. Cut branches at the trunk of the tree and avoid removing lots of branches from one area. Move around the tree and make judicious cuts.

Choose materials with contrasting colors, textures (narrow needles, wide leaves), forms (upright branches, trailing stems) and shapes. Add a few items that drape to soften the edge of the container.

Look for accents that can last: rose hips, bittersweet, even the showy plumes of ornamental grasses. Tuck in moss — or any other inexpensive green — to fill in the holes.

Fill the entire box. Don’t concentrate all of the materials at the front of the container. Fill it all the way to the window. (Remember, you may be able to see the box from inside, too.)

Source: Scott Endres