Quick Window Boxes for Christmas

'Tis the season to be super busy. My window boxes were empty, waiting for me to take the time to bring them to life once again. The problem is time, and I had almost given up on filling them with fall/winter plants. There are 7 boxes in front of our home and having them looking pretty immediately transforms the house. If they are empty, the house has a sad look. When I found these red cyclamen for half price, that motivated me to take the time and make some quick Christmas window boxes. Boy, am I glad I did!

Planting the window boxes is one of my favorite garden projects. Usually the project takes most of a day because I remove the soil, scrub them clean, add new potting soil and amendment, and fill them with lots of plants. This year I took some short cuts. The soil was soaking from recent rains and the boxes were very heavy, so I left them on the brackets and left the old soil. I added some amendment, this is my favorite for transplanting. 

I rarely lose a plant and have very little transplant shock if I add this when transplanting. After sprinkling some on top, I dug it in and loosened the soil to aerate it. Then I planted red cyclamen, white stock, and white pansies.

Typically I plant many more small plants in one window box. For these quick planters I just stuck in some small branches cut from the bottom of our Christmas tree. 

They filled the gaps nicely, were available and less expensive than another flat of flowers. Once they dry out, I will pull them and decide if the plants have filled in enough. If not I can easily add plants. 

This little angel has been in my garden for twenty years, watching over the window boxes. 

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