Winter Window Boxes and Planters

This fall when the shade loving plants begin to fade I like to do something different with the window box. When we look out the kitchen window I like to look through plants. It makes me feel like I am sitting in a meadow. So this fall I cut some Hawthorn limbs that had berries on it. On the right hand side if you look closely you can see the remmanents of a Cardinal nest on one of the limbs.

I think someone mentioned concern about how big the Purple Fountain Grass would grow when I planted it in this window box in spring. It didn't get too big luckily. It didn't have great growing conditions here but it did fill a space and the blooms lasted until I cut it down. Hawthorn limbs don't last very long. They dry up and lose their leaves, the berries dry up and look ugly after awhile. So when it gets cold I like to do a little something different with my window box. It looks so boring sitting there empty. Now when we look out the window we can feel like we are in a forest.

I hate that I don't have pine boughs to cut for the window box during winter since our pine trees came down during storms last winter. There are lots of cedars around. This year I cut some limbs of cedar, a few berries of the deciduous holly and some grass plumes. The wren box is one of several that I had in the garden. I thought this looked like a cozy place for a wren to roost and keep warm during winter. Once I got going with the trimmings I decided to fill a pot to set on the front porch. The front porch looked a little naked without a pot of something to greet friends coming to visit.
Do you do seasonal decorating with your window boxes and empty planters? I would love to see/hear about what you do to your empty window boxes and planters.