Whenever I move into a house, one of the first things I do is add flower boxes under the front windows. It’s a feature I’ve always loved and is a must-have for me. Here are seven tips for creating beautiful window box ideas to amp up your home’s curb appeal.
1. Sunny Location: Choose classic geraniums and petunias (above). Be sure to choose wave or bell petunias for a cascading look. I love when the flowers are overflowing beneath the window.
2. Monochromatic Look: Normally I choose flower colors that contrast with the siding on the house, but consider the beauty of this tone on tone look below.
3. Go for Greenery: Some people aren’t a fan of flowers – gasp! – and if you’re one of them, you might enjoy adding a window box or two filled with green plants. Sweet potato ivy would make a great choice since it cascades and is a fast grower. Any kind of ivy works great though. Choose different leaf shapes in various shades of green for the greatest visual impact.
4. Opt for Heirlooms: Add old-fashioned curb appeal by tucking heirloom flowers into a window box, like foxglove, celosia
5. Pick Just One: One type of flower, that is. A group of impatiens enhances the cottage style vibe of this charming older home.
6. Overplant Your Window Box: I always plant my plugs closer together than recommended when it comes to a window box. Doing so makes the box look fuller faster. You can always prune the flowers or even pull a few out it they start to look unhealthy due to lack of space.
7. Plant for the Season: Choose pansies or other cool weather plants for spring flower boxes. When the weather gets warmer, swap them out for summer plants.
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There are people who don’t like flowers? What blasphemy! These are beautiful.
I love window boxes, but have always had difficulty watering them enough, due to soil drying out so quickly, especially on the sunny side of my house. It became a challenge during the hot summer months – who was going to win – and between myself and mother nature, it pretty much came down to a draw. I’ve learned what flowers/plants grow best in boxes and that window boxes are not a “plant once for all season” chore, and learned to replace the plants when they get tired. It’s a labor of love, for sure.
I love window boxes and have two that i plant for the seasons. I could use a few more, it’s hard to believe some people don’t care for flowers, i think sometimes they just don’t have time to take care of them.
Where I live I can’t have planter boxes under my windows so I do the next best thing and have them hang from the railing surrounding my patio. These are all so pretty it gives me a few more ideas on what flowers to put in this year.
When I was working and commuting, I had window boxes with asparagus ferns because I didn’t have time to maintain flowers. But I have ones now that I change the flowers out for the seasons and generally have fun with. Thanks for the lovely inspiration as I’ll be taking pansies out soon and putting in summer flowers.
Planning my window boxes this week but will wait till May to plant them. Still in for a few cold nights even here in N.C. To keep the moisture in my hay basket type planter I make sure to line with plastic with a few drainage holes poked in it and then my coir lining and good moisture retentive soil. Thanks for your ideas for plant combinations.
In the plant world, fuller is healthy looking than sparse….. got it!