The balcony decorations in winter at the farm

Since this morning, the Gastein Valley has been showing off its winter coat again—yesterday, all the animals here at the farm were brought into the stable and will now be cared for indoors. The pastures have been grazed bare, and now other outdoor tasks are beginning—like taking down the fences and spreading fertilizer and slurry on the meadows. Inside the farmhouse, we’re also using the time to get “winter-ready.”

In summer, the farm is dressed in a colourful dress of flowers. There is a little flowerpot on every corner and the garden shines in full splendour. But in autumn that changes very quickly, as soon as everything has been harvested and the summer flowers have faded.

But the farm by no means falls into a dreary picture over the winter months! With us, it is a tradition that the houses and entrance areas are decorated for winter. For this, one uses fir or spruce branches or like us – many mountain pine branches, which are picked and cut by hand with pruning shears on the alpine pasture. Since it is quite a laborious task, you need almost the whole day and several people until enough mountain pines have been “harvested”.

Once the mountain pine branches have arrived in the valley, the big decorating session begins and the farm shines with wintery splendor! My mother-in-law taught me the technique of how to arrange the branches properly so they stay “green” all winter long: first, the flower boxes are watered thoroughly, then the branches are tucked in in rows of four, and when the frost sets in, they are watered again so they have enough moisture to keep their beautiful color throughout the winter.

And matching the winter costume of the Zittrauerhof, Mother Hulda has shaken her beds and wrapped the Gastein Valley in a white dress today. One could almost think winter is here and Christmas is just around the corner.

But as fast as the last few months have flown by, the weeks until then will pass just as quickly!

A lovely time from Zittrauerhof, Katharina Schwaiger.