As winter weather rolls in and temperatures drop, we spend more time indoors looking out than outdoors looking in. But both views are enhanced by decorative winter window boxes.
Typically by this time of year, the bright flowers featured in your summer window boxes have died or gone to seed. Which means it’s time to think about creating winter window boxes. The good news is that many winter window box ideas include evergreen branches and boughs rather than rooted plants. That means that they require less care than summer displays and the display can last just as long.
You can have a lot of creative fun assembling plant parts, accents, ornaments, and other materials into eye-catching winter containers. Just follow the three simple steps below to create a show-stopping container that sparkles all winter long.
1. Create Structure & Vertical Impact With Thrillers
As you consider window box winter ideas, choose the thrillers first. These are the vertical structural elements that draw the eye to the window box.
While you can use winter plants for window boxes, it’s also possible (and somewhat easier) to select plant parts instead. Consider these ideas for instant vertical impact:
- Tall Evergreen Boughs - Tall evergreen branches add height and drama to your window boxes. You might use pine, spruce, or fir branches in the arrangement. Make them sufficiently long to anchor them in a layer of sand in the bottom of the boxes. You can get fresh evergreen branches from Amazon sent straight to your door for effortless decorating.
- Red-Twig or Yellow-Twig Dogwood Stakes - Another excellent cutting to use for vertical impact is dogwood. Pick red-twig dogwood or yellow-twig or both. The warm red and orange tones contrast nicely with evergreen fillers. Red-twig dogwood branches are also available on Amazon.
- Dried Hydrangea or Sedum Stems - Greenery is nice, but dried or dormant vegetation is another dramatic design option to consider. Upright sedum stems or dried hydrangea stems can be a good addition. Clean up your shrubs for free decorations!
2. Add Volume With Evergreen Fillers
A lush and lovely winter window box would look empty with just vertical elements. Under and around the vertical thrillers you’ll need to weave in fillers to add volume and texture.
Evergreen cuttings work well here, but they aren’t the only possibility. Consider these options as well:
- Cedar or Juniper Branches - Cedar or juniper branches offer lush greenery. You can position them to flow around the stems of the thrillers. If you select boughs with long needles, they look great draping down to spill over the edge. Get fresh cut juniper branches with berries from Etsy.
- Short Boxwood Cuttings - If you happen to have a boxwood hedge, boxwood cuttings also do the filler job nicely. Scheduling a hedge clip in winter would be perfect.
- Vine Cuttings (Creeping Jenny, Ivy) - Vining ground cover plants aren’t always invasive plants, but they often are. English ivy is a prime example (I’ve been trying to get it out of my yard in San Francisco for years). That means that you don’t have to worry about taking cuttings of green ground cover like ivy, creeping Jenny, or creeping Charlie. Cuttings of any one of these will make a graceful filler in winter window boxes and also dangle daintily over the edge.
3. Accent With Color & Texture
You don’t have to use a holiday theme for your winter window boxes, but you can if you want to. An easy way to bring in the Christmas spirit is by adding accents.
If your winter window boxes go up early in the season, you can add holiday accents closer to the holidays and then remove them afterwards to keep enjoying the display into the new year. Try these festive additions:
- Clusters of Berries - You may well deck the halls with bows of holly, so just take some of those bright red berries to add color to your winter window box. If you prefer, you can use other types of red berries (e.g. winterberry) or even artificial berries. The round shape of the berries is also a pleasing contrast to the needled branches.
- Oversized Pinecones - Pinecones seem very appropriate for a winter holiday theme. They bring to mind the conifers most often used for Christmas trees, but are very different than the needled branches in color, shape, and texture.
- Ribbons - Ribbon often tops holiday gifts, but it can also create colorful accents in your winter window box. Weave red ribbons or ornament strands through the fillers or make bows and place them strategically in the design. Shop tons of festive ribbons and bows from At Home.
- Dried Citrus Slices & Cinnamon Sticks - Why not add elements that bring to mind holiday beverages like hot apple cider and hot cocoa? Cinnamon sticks and dried citrus slices make us think of evenings wrapping gifts or visiting with family.
