Window boxes are an excellent way to extend the beauty of a garden to other areas of the yard and home. In fact, window boxes are no longer just for windows, but have been sprouting up everywhere including patios, porches, decks, balconies, and even rooftops. Adding a few window boxes to the front of a home can give it that extra bit of curb appeal that captures a passerby’s glance.
For those of us less handy at gardening, window boxes offer an excellent opportunity to enjoy the beautiful delight of garden flowers without the endless hours spent kneeling or bending down to dig a garden, plant the garden with numerous plants, and weed the garden for many weeks thereafter. In fact, creating a small garden with a window box is an excellent and relatively inexpensive way to begin cultivating that green thumb that you have always wanted.
Window boxes, a small garden compared to full-fledged gardens, require special treatment, including selection of soil, arrangement of flowers, and placement or location selection. Any gardener who takes the time to learn a few simple gardening techniques when it comes to window boxes will be able to enjoy the benefits of their own small piece of gardening delight with their own carefully created window box garden.
Preparation of the Window Box – Soil
Window boxes, due to their small size as gardens go, are best suited for a soil-less mix to encourage the growth of the flowers and foliage plants within their confines. A soil-less mix that includes fertilizer is best for this purpose. A soil-less mix successfully creates sufficient aeration, drainage, and water retention for the small garden within it.
First, the plants will require an excellent quality mix if they are to produce a root system that will be able to sustain them throughout the season. Secondly, the plants will need an excellent quality mix for blooming purposes.
Thirdly, and perhaps most importantly, window boxes that are actually secured at windows cannot become so heavy and burdensome that they begin to lose their secure attachment. A water-logged window box filled with regular soil is extremely heavy and will strain any attachments being used to secure it.
With all of these reasons in mind, it is best to select a soil-less mix complete with fertilizer composed of peat moss and vermiculite. The fertilizer will provide the nutrients the plants need to develop strong, healthy roots and an abundance of blooms.
In fact, incorporating a continuous feed fertilizer during the preparation period of planting will encourage continuous and heavy blooming throughout the season. Soil-less mixtures are available in many stores including gardening centers, nurseries, home improvement stores, discount stores, and even supermarkets and grocery stores.
Contrary to popular thought, placing small stones, pebbles, or marbles in the bottom of your window box does not provide better drainage for the plants. If too much water is in the window box, then, obviously, too much water is in the window box. Small stones, pebbles, and marbles in the bottom of the window box will not allow the water to drain out of it.
Instead, the water simply sits at the bottom of the window box and builds up every time more water is poured onto the plants. Unless the water has been used by the plants, evaporated through the heat of the day, or dissipated due to the lack of watering, the water is going to build up and create water-logged roots. Placing drainage holes in the bottom of the window box will release some of the extra water.
Each year, the soil-less mix should be replaced in the window box. This will ensure that any diseases that encroached upon the previous year’s plantings will not be carried over into this year’s planting.
Selection of the Window Box Container
It takes a bit of planning and forethought to choose a window box to complement your garden or to create your own small garden. First, decide where the window box is going to be placed. Next, measure the width of the location to determine the proper size for the window box. Then, determine what type of material will be in keeping with the theme being used throughout the rest of the exterior of your home, including gardens, patios, decks, porches, gazebos, and balconies.
Pay specific attention to the size of the window box to guarantee that it will not be either too large or too small. Additionally, select a style for your window box that will be in keeping with the remainder of the decorations throughout the yard. Finally, select a window box with a cost that fits your wallet.
Window boxes are available in a wide variety of materials including wood, fiberglass, clay, plastic, and concrete. Some styles of window boxes will be suitable for stationary ground placement only due to the heaviness of their construction. However, window boxes are available in such a widespread assortment of styles, sizes, and materials that any gardener is sure to find one to house their own special small garden.
Plant Selection For Your Window Box Garden
Plants should be selected keeping several things in mind. Initially, you should determine whether you want to replant the window box each season or simply maintain one planting for as long as possible.
Selecting young healthy plants will give your window box a jumpstart. Younger plants will adapt to their new home more readily than mature plants that might not survive the shock of a new environment.
The plants should be spaced more closely than the suggested spacing for garden use. For the best visual effect, select plants of complimentary coloring, sizes, and textures. At the edges of the window box, trailing plants will do well. The additional overflow room will help them to stay healthy and experience vigorous growth.
Taller plants and bushy ones will look best at the back of the window box. However, it is important not to select plants that will grow very tall if the window box will be placed outside your window. Keep in mind the location of the window box when selecting plants.
Many types of plants will grow in a window box garden, including annuals, small vegetables, and herbs. Houseplants typically make excellent choices for inclusion in a window box garden.
Background of the Window Box
Window boxes may have their roots back in the days when homeowners lived in closely built homes in the narrow confines of cities. Gardens were virtually unheard of and flowers were few and far between homes.
The space directly beneath windows became a golden opportunity to display a few colorful and aromatic flowers to bring a bit of charm into the home of many people. As homes became more spread out with small yards and porches, window boxes began to spread out into those areas as well.
Purchase Locations for your Window Box
All of the items required for putting together an excellent and colorful array of window boxes are available at many online sites, garden centers, nurseries, home improvement stores, and discount stores. Many online sites specialize in the sale of window boxes as well.
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