Many homes feature window boxes that accentuate the look of the home and add a personal touch. The planters are attached below windows so the plants are visible outdoors and indoors. Window boxes are available in several styles and materials, including wood and wrought iron. Does this Spark an idea?
Visually Pleasing
Personal taste is the motivator in window boxes. No matter what you like, there are plants to match your taste. There is no right or wrong way. Consider how you want the window box to look.
Flowering plants and vines are excellent choices for window boxes. Mix and match various plants or just plant one type in several boxes.
Plants
Remove the plants from hanging baskets and plant them in a window box. Geraniums, ivy, airplane plants or other full foliage fills a window box nicely and cascades down the wall. Alternatively, train the ivy vines to grow up the wall as well.
Perennials are good choices for window boxes. Petunias, foxglove and many others create a vivid array of colors and need to be replanted just every two to four years.
Trailing vines in a window box create a woody look to the outside of the home. Train vining plants to grow up and down over the window box. Specific plants available are Virginia creeper, lantana or wisteria. All varieties will need pruning often to keep them contained in a window box, however.
Consider such tall plants as irises or lilies in the center of each window box, surrounded by smaller flowering plants, such as pansies, Shasta daisies and moss roses.
Additional Ideas
Window boxes feature cactus and herb gardens as well. Aloe vera, pencil cactus, Elkhorn cactus and Christmas cactus make excellent gardens in window boxes filled with potting soil and a thick layer of small pebbles.
Plant an herb garden window box under the kitchen window. Herbs include basil, parsley, rosemary and thyme. When you need a fresh herb, simply open the window and pick as much as needed. The aroma of a freshly picked herb garden is not to be outdone.
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