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Windowboxes, finally!

RosaSharon's picture

Windowboxes, finally! (post #15383)

RosaSharon on Thu, 03/13/2008 - 22:11
in


I have finally gotten to around to installing window boxes on our house this year, so while I am still in the planning stages, I want to ask a few questions about the best choices.  Here is the box I picked out: http://www.hooksandlattice.com/meddecora-window-boxes.html


I figure I can address watering issues by adding this to the configuration: http://www.hooksandlattice.com/waterwell-planter-reservoir.html


My remaining challenges are:


- The planter boxes will be in a difficult to reach place... how can I do maintenance on the plants?  Obviously deadheading is out of the question as they will be too out of reach for that daily activity. My past experience with 'self cleaning' types of annuals that claim they do not need deadheading was that they were not quite what they claimed. Suggestion for flower choices?


- I would like to add an evergreen so that once the summer is over the planters won't look empty and ugly, but I want them to be very slow growing so that they will remain small enough to not crowd the planter.


So...what do you recommend? What have you had good results with?


Thanks, Rosa


 
-A +A
SarahC's picture

(post #15383, reply #1 of 2)

by SarahC in reply to RosaSharon [original] on Sat, 03/15/2008 - 01:31

Should I assume these are going to be in the sun? If so this won't help, but if you are shady---

My window boxes are all in the shade (I only have windows on the shady sides of the house... I'm in the woods). I have Christmas ferns living in my window boxes year-round. I put pansies, then impatients around them during the spring and summer, so I don't have to do much tending (although my daughter picks the pansies for me). For dangling things I have a little vinca, dead-nettle, and a scrap of "emerald gaiety" euonymus (that I have been trying to murder in the ground but looks fine out the window box). These things aren't super spectacular in the winter, but they do look alive and green most of the time, when they aren't covered with snow. It isn't a sophisticated look but the overall effect in the summer is very bright and homey which is what I like!

 


zone 6 gardening in the woods with 30,000 deer

 

zone 6 gardening in the woods with 30,000 deer

RosaSharon's picture

(post #15383, reply #2 of 2)

by RosaSharon in reply to Anonymous [original] on Mon, 03/17/2008 - 17:06


Thanks, you got me thinking! 


I went outside at a few different times of the day and realized that one of the planters will probably get a lot less sun than the others. Since the front of the house of so asymmetric, I had been hoping to have some symmetry in the boxes, but now I see this might not be possible. Opting for ferns that do well in both shade and sun might work, and since I have a naturalistic theme to my Garden, I can just grab some of the ones growing in my garden! If I add some little evergreens, and then scatter in perennials for color, I should be doing OK! The trick is still going to be accessing them for maintenance, but they will be under windows, after all....


~ Rosa