In My Garden: Window Boxes

I’ve always had window boxes where we’ve lived, even if I could only set a box on a stand in front of one of my windows. I love window boxes, but they can be really heavy to attach to the side of a house . . . and then when you add the dirt and plants, well, they are sometimes just too heavy! So this spring I’m working on adding a few free-standing window boxes on the windows that look out onto our deck, and if I can manage it, I would like to add a few by our front door.

When we lived at the lake, we had mostly shade all around our house so impatiens in the flower boxes and hostas all around the yard worked perfectly. Now that we have moved into town, we have more sunlight so I have more options for flowers in my window boxes, but I still like the impatiens the best. Our house is very light blue-gray with white trim so I’m thinking of sticking with white window boxes and red flowers, but who knows what I’ll come up with as soon as the weather is warm enough to get them filled up!

The great thing about window boxes, or container gardening in general, is that you can have all of the fun and beauty of a tiny garden anywhere you want. If you live in the city and only have a very small balcony or patio, you can still have a few boxes or other containers filled with bright blooms to cheer up your home and yard. Since we live in town, but we live just on the edge of town, we have a pretty big yard, a huge deck with a gazebo (all of which needs to be painted this summer!), as well as a lovely front yard with a couple of flower beds that desperately need some TLC this spring.

The main challenge in having such a large yard and garden areas is to get things cleaned up and filled with plants each spring. Every year I try to add a few new perennials, but since we have only been in this house two years, I still have a lot of work to do. Over time, however, the flower gardens and yard will be filled with lots of perennials and then I can add a few seasonal flowers each spring. Once we get the gardens cleaned up from winter, one of my first projects is going to be the flower boxes! I’m so ready for spring . . . are you?

Here are a few ideas I found while looking for a bit of inspiration for my window boxes. I would love to hear about your gardening adventures!

Found a bunch of great ideas for window boxes on the Midwest Living website

 

This reminds me of our house in Michigan. It was blue with white trim and white window boxes. I also had a flower garden area below the window boxes filled with hostas and lots of other perennials. I miss that garden, but now I get to create new gardens at this house!

I have never had much success with geraniums. Even though they are beautiful when I first bring them home, in just a few weeks they don’t look so great any longer. I’ve tried trimming off the dead leaves and blooms, making sure they have enough water (but not too much!), making sure they get enough sunlight – but they just don’t do well for me. I do like the look of this window box treatment, however, on the light yellow house with white trim. Not sure about the black window box, but overall it is very pretty! What do you think? I would use red impatiens instead because I’ve always had beautiful planters when I fill them with impatiens.

 

Isn’t this beautiful? White on white, with gorgeous greens draping and trailing, spilling out of the window box! With just a few touches of pastel pink, this arrangement is simple yet cozy and inviting to the front porch (or is it perhaps the back porch?) with a vintage watering can nearby. I love this look! This just might work perfectly out on our deck, and with all that greenery I won’t have to worry about the blossoms fading and drooping.

 

Yellow pansies in a white window box . . . so cheerful and bright! With a bit of trailing green and white vines, this is a sweet combination!

Blue house, white window box, and a riot of colors for this home! I’m not sure if I like the variegated look of lots of different colors and types of flowers, or the look of all one color and type of flowers with trailing greenery for accent. So many decisions to make, I guess I better get busy!

 

White window boxes on a white house – with pastel pink and white petunias and a pop of yellow trailing down the sides. I’m thinking I would like a bit more color than this, but the yellow really does make it so pretty. What do you think?

 

Doesn’t this one remind you of Grandma’s house? The white ruffled curtains, the light brown siding with a gray-blue window box, filled with dainty white flowers . . . . it feels vintage and old-fashioned to me!

 

White window box on a white house, but this time overflowing with bright and light pink impatiens. Perfect for the shady side of the house, or if your yard and garden is surrounded by trees and you have a lot of shade, this window box would be a beautiful pop of color! The trailing vines are pretty, too. So many ideas, I’m not sure what to do, but I’ll figure it out soon! I would love to hear about your spring plans. Do you plant a garden? Do you do flowers or vegetables, or both? How about window boxes? I’ll take some pictures of ours as soon as they are filled up!

 

PS Here are a few ideas if you are looking for window boxes for your home this spring. I’m still looking for some that are free-standing so we don’t have to attach them to the side of the house. I’ll let you know if I find any!