Picking Up Sticks for Holiday Decor

When we lived in the Midwest we had an acre of land with several trees. They were trees that made great branches for filling window boxes and planters for the Christmas season. We also had dogwood bushes and other sticks in all colors that could be cut down for the same reason. We no longer have that luxury. We now live in a condo in northern Virginia and have a balcony. On the balcony we have three “window boxes” that are zip tied to the back of the furniture because you can’t hang anything from the balcony. It sounds weird, but our arrangement works. So this year we filled the planters with English ivy, liriope and pansies with the idea to add greenery to them for Christmas - especially since we aren’t going anywhere this year. So we got some greens from American plant, but I forgot to look for sticks. Yesterday on our morning walk I was reminded about that when we came across a nice branch that was in the street. I scooped it up and kept my eyes open for a few more sticks that could fill the planters and also the wall vase and plant container on the console table. You could say I was helping to clean up the neighborhood! Anyway, it worked out well. I didn’t dare pick things from the park, but the street seemed like an ok idea. Now I need to find out if stringing lights is not prohibited by the condo rules.