Filling Window Boxes with Holiday Cheer

The holidays are my favorite time of year. The girls come home—fiancés, husbands, friends and children in tow, and the cottage is filled with laughter and love. I like to have everything ready in advance, so that I can spend every precious minute enjoying their company. That means getting a head start on cooking, shopping and decorating!

In keeping with our country cottage style, I like to draw on nature to decorate. Magnolia leaves, pinecones and grasses from the garden, grace mantels and tabletops. If we are lucky, the camellias bloom alongside the long driveway, and the ancient pecan grove showers us with nuts for eating and decorating. Rose hips and berries add color to holiday arrangements, and pine boughs scent the house and bring back memories of Christmas past.

Southerners have the lovely benefit of being able to fill our window boxes with seasonal plants and flowers for the holidays, welcoming family and friends from the outside in.  This year, I am going with a really simple and traditional look for my kitchen window boxes. I am combining Superbells^® Red Calibrachoa, and Supertunia^® White Petunia for a gorgeous cascade of flowers that will spill over the sides of my boxes. I’ll add the aptly-named Snow Princess^® Lobularia for seasonal snowy sparkle. Flying Colors^® Red Diascia hybrid and Diamond Frost^® Euphorbia continue the holiday color scheme and fill the boxes to bursting with holiday cheer. I enjoy them as much from inside my kitchen as I do from the garden and driveway, and they will last all winter long.

Here are a few simple steps to fill your window boxes with holiday cheer.

1. Prepare your window boxes. Give them a soapy wash and a good rinse, then fill them with good quality, fresh potting soil.  Healthy soil grows healthy plants.
2. Select seasonal plants that will survive chilly weather and complement your home, both inside and out.
3. Plant early.  Get plants settled in their new environment at least a month before you want them to be at their best. This will give the plants time to fill out, making your window boxes lush. Don’t be bashful about planting intensively for a beautiful and bountiful display.
4. Feed your plants regularly with a good organic fertilizer to help them look their best.
5. If the forecast calls for a freeze, cover your window boxes with fabric to protect them, or bring them inside if you can.
6. Don’t stop at window boxes! Carry your plant combinations to hanging baskets and containers to create a cohesive look to your holiday decorations.

From our house to yours, enjoy a beautiful and peaceful holiday season!

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