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.