Make sure you are aware of which flowers thrive in hot, sunny areas and which do better in shade if you are adding patio containers or window boxes to your home. To find the best plants for your sun exposure, check out our listings of the best flowers for sun versus shadow.
Why Choose a Window Box?
Window boxes are fantastic for both homes and apartments! When you grow plants in window boxes, they are at eye level, giving you a different viewpoint than if you were to grow them in your yard.
The plants will be visible from inside as part of your perspective of the outside. Additionally, the container and plants blend into the exterior architecture.
What to Plant in Window Boxes
Thinking about what to plant? Begonias, petunias, geraniums, zinnias, nasturtiums, and geraniums are all suitable flowers for major themes. Fill in the space with plants that will spill over the box’s edge, such as inch plants, ivy, euonymus, heather, or vinca. Impatiens thrive in shady environments. Salvia, heliotrope, and coleus are more subdued options. When window boxes are overflowing with greenery, they look their finest.
Climbing vines can be trained to wrap around the window frame by seasoned gardeners for a coordinated look. Topiary forms can be used as a focus point by connoisseurs. The imagination can be captured by ivy or creeping fig topiaries or other recognizable shapes.
Petunias thrive in window boxes, right?
One of the most common plants for window boxes is the trailing petunia. They can withstand hot temperatures and humidity, but they grow best in an area that gets at least six hours of direct sunlight each day. Petunias are available in a variety of hues, including white, red, yellow, pink, purple, and purple.
In a window box, how many petunias should I plant?
These days, window boxes have somewhat become my obsession. They are extremely endearing in my opinion and are capable of purging many exterior house sins. A window box, in my opinion, would rank highly on the must-do list for curb appeal if I were selling a home.
You could then be wondering why I’m only now installing a window box on my own home. Sincerely, I had never even considered it. But when I was looking at this elevation drawing of the house (which is for some work we want to complete later in the summer), I became really troubled by the fact that one of the windows is shorter than the others. It seems reasonable that this window is smaller than the rest because it is the kitchen window behind the sink, but from the outside, it just doesn’t look right. The ideal location for a window box! I don’t think you’ll realize how short it is very much once it’s fitted and planted. A little color would also go a long way because the exterior of our house is all white and a little, hmm, dull.
Look at the tiny window in the center. Do you find it to be as bothersome as I do? It seems to be pleading for a window box.
I’ve been having fun searching for fantastic window box ideas because I adore looking for inspiration for containers. And even though I’ve never planted a window box, simply by looking at pictures of them, I can determine what I like and what’s certainly not quite right. So, if you’re planning to plant a window box, here are a few design ideas to bear in mind.
1. The design should be more straightforward the more window boxes you have. Although window boxes are fantastic, they require a lot of attention, to quote Tim Gunn. Your home will resemble the little shop of horrors if there are too many colors or textures present. Limit the number of plants you choose to one, possibly two, or three at the most (and only if they are closely related to one another, such as a light and a dark pink petunia), and then plant each box the same way. When there are so many excellent plants available, I know it might be difficult to choose just a few, but choose one or two this year and try something completely new the following year. Just remember not to complete it all at once.
The window boxes this homeowner chose just have one plant, and it looks fantastic (the plants in the front,
2. The simpler and “larger” the design, the taller your window boxes should be. Although Euphorbia “Diamond Frost” makes a wonderful container plant, a window box raised 15 feet in the air would entirely obscure its delicate texture. Stick to a big, bold petunia or geranium instead.
This lovely window box would look wonderful in a lower window where its delicate texture could be admired.
3. The adage “Thriller, Filler, Spiller” is still relevant, sort of. You want to vary things up, just as with any container planting (unless you are going for a very contemporary look, in which case a line of plants all the same heightgrasses grown in almost a hedge look, for examplemight look very cool). The tallest plant should be in the centre, and from there, everything else should gradually get smaller. But be sure to keep scale in mind. It would be weird to plant Papyrus “King Tut” in the midst of a very long window box (and make opening the windows very difficult.) Additionally, spillers must to be uniform throughout the box. Some I observed had spillers only on the ends, and it struck me as odd. And while we’re on the subject of spillers…
Although technically a railing box rather than a window box, the same concepts nevertheless apply. This box has a great graded effect.
Although this planting is quite excellent overall, I wish the middle had more height. See how it has slightly taller sides that resemble a camel’s back? To give it additional height, all I want to do is reach in there and yank something up.
4. Get out of the sweet potato vine’s way. Girl named “Marguerite” is ravenous. She’ll have lunch with all the other plants in your container. For a few weeks, yes, she will look fantastic, but eventually she will become ungrateful. You’ll be left with nothing but a huge blob of lime green. She appears to be even more active in window boxes, based on the pictures I was able to find. Better alternatives include Lysimachia nummularia ‘Aurea’ (creepy jenny), which still provides that attractive color, or one of the more well-behaved new sweet potato vines.
The poor geranium yelled, “Help, I’m being eaten alive by this enormous green creature.
5. Repeat after me, repeat after me. (Notice how I repeated myself?) Repeat a few specific plants throughout your design. While color clumps in a patio container look fantastic, they seem out of proportion in a window box. A window box is a fantastic place for symmetry.
This homeowner LOVES symmetry, yet despite the fact that this window box only has three distinct plants, it looks fantastic.
6. Be mindful of the circumstances. Many container plants can be pushed to their limits. For instance, if you’re willing to water your plants frequently, you can often place a plant that prefers half light in a container in a highly sunny area. With other, taller plants positioned next to them, you can also shade some houseplants. Alternately, you can rotate a container to occasionally let a plant that would normally be shadowed receive a little more light. However, window boxes don’t move, and they endure a lot of hardship. Imagine how windy the top story of the house can be. Additionally, a northern exposure will receive virtually no light because it is against the side of the house, as opposed to a container that is only a few feet away from the house, which would at least receive some light. The south side of the building will be where I’ll place my window box. an extremely reflective white house’s south side. The likelihood that I will fry all the plants to death is pretty high. I use self-watering reservoirs in the box when I plant to combat this, and I also make sure I choose hardy plants that enjoy the light.
I adore this DeWald Gardens container that receives full sun. I particularly appreciate the way it has a lovely mounding shape that resembles an eye. Coral red geraniums and purple calibrachoa (I guess that’s what it is) give it a vibrant splash of color. The sweet potato vine is great, and I appreciate how they utilized two distinct cultivars to make it relate but not be overly matchy (to me, it doesn’t appear like Marguerite).
7. Follow your passions. I believe that a garden’s containers are arguably its most intimate component. Compared to practically any other area of the garden, plants for containers are chosen with more care. They are the plants we are most likely to study every day because they require so much care and are each placed in a container with a specific purpose. Therefore, disregard any of the aforementioned recommendations that don’t apply to the items you want to include in a window box. It only matters if you think it looks decent.
Here is what I adore. Almost everything you read above is covered by these two window box plantings, as well as a further issue I neglected to mention: changing your plantings out seasonally. These two window boxes, both created by Deborah Silver, are among the very best I’ve ever seen. Please visit her incredible blog, Dirt Simple, or look through her impressive portfolio.
Understand what I mean by repetition? It’s crucial in a lengthy row of window boxes like this one. The height is ideal, and there are just the right number of spillers.
If you thought I enjoyed the design above, you have no idea how much I adore this planting of decorative kale and cabbage (Brassicas). This window box, I WANT IT.
Can other plants be planted beside petunias?
When planting petunias among other plants, there are additional useful considerations. Petunias are exceptionally aggressive plants and bloomers, and they will trample over any delicate neighbors.
They benefit most from direct sunlight, and they require some light to flourish. For a truly stunning display, group them with other plants that benefit from full sun.
Similar to petunias, companion plants should require little water. Petunias do require a fair amount of water, so keep any cacti away from them, but try to stay away from other plants that require consistently moist soil.
Choosing plants that go well with your petunias can provide you happiness all season long.
What combinations of petunia hues work well?
Sometimes a flowerbed does best with only one hue of bloom. It is possible to utilize a never-ending wave of petunia flowers and a monochromatic color scheme to assist produce an aesthetically pleasing result. All of the blooms don’t need to be the same shade of hue. Purple petunias, one of the most popular and plentiful hybrid petunia flower colors, can be used to achieve an eye-catching impact without taking away from the other plants in the garden. Plant petunias, for instance, with violet, vivid purple, and lavender-purple blossoms. To avoid being an eyesore, the color you choose should complement the rest of your landscape and blend in with it.
Can marigolds and petunias coexist successfully?
Marigolds and petunias can be planted together as long as there is at least 12 inches of space between them. They both need sunlight, soil, and hydration. Excellent vegetable garden companion plants include petunias and marigolds.
What is the key to successful and beautiful boxes? Here are a few tips to help you in your planning:
1. Select window boxes with drainage holes. Plastic containers must have holes drilled into the bottom and be of sufficient size.
2. Put potting soil, not garden loam, in your pots. Loam compacts, making it impossible for plants to root through it.
3. You could wish to add water-storing crystals to your soil to help retain water if your window boxes are in the sun or in a hard-to-water location.
4. Choosing a background-filling primary plant, such as geraniums, salvia, or angelonia in the sun, New Guinea impatiens in the part-sun, or begonias in the shade, is an excellent strategy for choosing plants. Use 2-3 geraniums for a box with two windows, and 3–4 geraniums for a box with three windows. Put a filler plant—something that stays lower and more compact, such lobelia, calibrachoa, compact verbenas, blooming vinca, or petunias—between the main plants. You can put some trailing plants such as vinca vine, ivies, sweet potato vine, scaevola, bacopa, trailing verbena, or ivy geraniums in front of your main plants.
You don’t want plants that grow 3–4 in your boxes since they will bend over and break and by July you may be left with nothing. Make sure you know how tall your flowers will develop. Ask any member of our yearly team for suggestions if you need assistance with your window box arrangements.
In a window box, how many plants should there be?
The beautiful window boxes, hanging baskets, and container gardens we sell and plant at our garden center are among the things visitors frequently remark on when they stop by in the spring and summer.
Throughout the years, Sue Dail, an important part of our garden center staff, has planted thousands of containers and baskets for our clients. She has some advice on how to come up with your own beautiful combinations.
1) Take your container’s size into account. It depends on the size of your container and the kinds of plants you’re using “By the end of the season, most plants will be 3 to 4 times their current size, so Sue advises leaving some room for expansion. In a 24 window box, Sue advises using 5 to 7 plants, depending on the variety you choose.
Play with a single kind or color to create different variations on a theme. “Great-looking planters can be built with a single variety of plants, such as petunias, in one or more colors, adds Sue.
Alternately, choose a color and combine plants with flowers of the same hue but distinct growth patterns to add visual intrigue. Mixing trailing and tall plants is one of her favorite design motifs. Sue advises combining verbena and Superbells.
3) Enjoy playing with texture. Choosing plants that enjoy the same conditions but have various foliage textures and/or colors is another variety. Sue suggests mixing coleus, bacopa, and osteospermum. or phlox and euphorbia.
4) Consider more than aesthetics and consume it! If you select edible plants for your planter, it will not only look beautiful but also taste excellent. “Herbs like chives, thyme, and basil can be combined to create a container for a kitchen garden. Sue thinks that you could even add edible flowers.” or give the phrase new meaning “By arranging various lettuce varieties in a sphere, you can create a salad bowl. Watch a new salad grow after pinching the leaves to make one to eat!
Visit our garden center in the spring and summer to select from the tens of thousands of plants we have been raising for you, along with Coast of Maine soils, plant feeds, and gardening enhancements.
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