Sprucing Up Your Windows for the Season


For most of us during this winter season, so many colors in our natural world fade: leaves fall from trees, flowering bushes go dormant, garden trellises sit bare. Like wreaths, evergreen garlands add a bright touch of greenery to our views, and help to celebrate the holiday season.

Creating your own evergreen garland is easy. You'll just need a few tools and supplies and a bundle of evergreen trimmings (varieties that work nicely include cedar, pine, boxwood, juniper, dogwood, Douglas fir and blue spruce). Garlands aren't just for windows, of course—they look festive on mantels and banisters and doors. But, as you can imagine, we're partial to windows; our instructions below will walk you through how to create an evergreen garland to dress up a standard rectangular window.

What You'll Need

• Evergreen trimmings (all cut to roughly the same length)
• Roll of twine or string
• Roll of garden wire (at least 22-gauge)
• Picture hooks
• Pruning sheers (to collect evergreen trimmings)
• Wire cutters (to cut garden wire)
• Hammer (to secure picture hooks; if you are worried about damaging your window frame, try using push pins)

How To Make

• Determine your garland length. To measure, un-spool your roll of twine along each side of window you want to decorate. If you want your garland to drape across the top and down the sides, we recommend creating three garland pieces and hanging them separately.
• Collect your evergreen trimmings. If you can't find them in your backyard, try visiting your nearest Christmas tree farm. Depending on the size of your window, you may need several dozen bundles. Trim each piece of greenery to about six inches and assemble into small bundles, securing with garden wire.
• Lay twine on a flat surface. A large kitchen table or counter works well. As an optional step, you may want to secure one end of the twine to a nearby table leg or chair back to keep it taut as you add the evergreen bundles.
• Assemble an evergreen bundle and place on twine. Your first bundle of stems should be placed near the start of your length of twine, with the stems pointing toward the long end of the twine.
• Attach evergreen bundle to the twine by wrapping several times with garden wire. Be sure the wire wraps around both the trimmings and the twine. Pull tight to secure.
• Continue adding evergreen bundles to the twine. Lay the second bundle on the twine so the foliage overlaps the stems of the first bundle (the stems, as with your first bundle, should point toward the long end of the twine). Continue adding bundles until you reach the end of the twine. Using the wire cutters, clip the garden wire and twist around the twine.
• Tie a loop at the beginning and end of the twine.
• Secure picture hooks to window frame. If you're draping the garland across the top of the frame, secure picture hooks at opposite corners. Hang the garland by putting the looped ends of the twine onto the hooks. To hang down the sides of the window, place a looped end of the twine onto the upper hook. If the garland doesn't hang straight, you can add another picture hook near the base of your window and then tuck a section of the twine onto the hook to hold it straight.
• Add a splash of color. Add red bows (you can attach them with twist ties), strings of cranberries (thread them with a fishing line and wrap around your evergreens) or holiday lights to give your garlands a festive look for the holiday season.

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