English Ivy will provide trailing green all winter if kept out of the wind.
In cold regions, these can be purchased already grown, or you can raise your
own.) To fasten, rely on brass screws rather than nails, which in a few years
may push out and cause a box to fall apart. California redwood becomes a neutral
gray if not painted, and cypress will last for years.The most common material
for window box gardens is wood.After planting, spread an inch mulch of peat moss
or other mulch over the soil to delay drying out and keep weeds in check.
(Thinner boards will warp and offer little insulation against summer heat.
English and German ivies are other trailers for sun or shade. Have in mind the
colors of the flowers, especially of plants that trail over the sides. Be sure
to provide enough drainage holes in the bottom for water to pass through freely.
Plants over a foot high do not look well unless boxes are exceptionally
large.When you plant a window box garden, put an inch layer of broken flower
pots, crushed brick, small stones or pebbles over the bottom to enable water to
escape freely through the openings. Other materials include metals, which are
attractive and, for the most part, light in weight. Cedar is recommended, as is
a good grade of white pine. Include some English daisies and sweet-smelling wall
flowers, so common in window box gardening in Western Europe.The choice of
plants for window box gardens is limited only by size. Be creative with colors
and texture. Pinch to keep bushy, and to improve appearance remove the spiked
blue flowers, unless you especially like them. In a month, give a liquid
fertilizer and follow up with feedings every seven to ten days. Leave an inch or
so of space between the window box garden and house for the movement of air.
Boxes resting on broad window ledges and on firm porch railings might be eight
feet long, but hardly more since moving them becomes too hazardous.Other
shade-tolerant trailing plants include English ivy and its varieties, creeping
jenny, Kenilworth ivy, creeping fig, German ivy, variegated
gill-over-the-ground, myrtle, wandering Jew, zebrina, achimenes, chlorophytum,
star of Bethlehem or Italian bellflower, and strawberry begonia.
Some space
under boxes is also important for air circulation, which will dry up run-off
water. For early spring, you might start with Dutch flower bulbs. Above this,
spread a piece of wet burlap or a layer of moist sphagnum moss, old leaves, hard
coal clinkers or cinders to prevent soil from washing into the drainage area.
Otherwise, you can grow almost anything you want.Select a color which will not
detract from the plants. In shade that is open to the sky, as on the north side
of a house, coleus grows superbly, with white-and-green kinds a handsome
contrast for those with red-and-pink leaves. Violas, blue phlox, aubretia, and
forget-me-nots are other possibilities.All plants in window box gardening need
rich soil for luxuriant growth. Keep to a minimum depth of eight to nine inches,
with a width of ten to twelve inches across the top. The familiar trailing
variegated vinca is excellent with them. An eight-inch-wide box accommodates two
rows of plants, with the tall ones in back and the low ones along the front. .
Thriving in sun or shade, the vinca needs constant pinching to prevent it from
becoming too long. Window box gardening, so much like container gardening, will
become your next favorite hobby. Dark flowers do not show up against dark paint.
Whatever plan you follow, get boards one to one and a quarter inches thick. In
winter, greens and berries, like bittersweet or California pepper berries with
pine, give color.This article may be distributed freely on your website and in
your ezines, as long as this entire article, copyright notice, links and the
resource box are unchanged. To make corners secure, reinforce with angle irons.
Other suitable and durable lightweight materials are plastic, fiberglass, spun
glass, and Gardenglas.When boxes are completed, treat the insides with Skin Care
Packing Set a preservative to prevent rotting.These are just a few hints on
planting your window box gardens. If you live in just one room or on a very
small property, you, too, can have a window box garden filled in spring with
pansies and primroses, in summer with petunias or fuchsias, and in fall with
chrysanthemums.For the best results in a window box gardens, the box ought to be
at least three to four feet long but not more than six feet. Of course, lengths
must vary according to the window, or series of windows or railing to be
decorated with window box gardening. Space larger kindsgeraniums, coleus, and
fuchsias-eight to ten inches apart; smaller kindslobelias, annual phlox, wax
begonias, sweet alyssum, and browalliasix inches apart. Foliage fertilizers can
also be applied, but only as a supplement to root feeding.In this country,
window box gardening offers apartment dwellers the enjoyment of container
gardening from within or without. The Trailing Queen coleus is one of the
best.Try hyacinths with pansies or early tulips or daffodils interplanted with
grape hyacinths, or basket-of-gold and arabis with scillas, chionodoxas, or
leucojum.
Coleus luxuriates in a rich soil and requires plenty of moisture. In
the sun, low annuals, dwarf marigolds, lobelias and verbenas make nice edgings
as does sweet alyssum, in white, purple or lavender. After the preservative has
dried, apply at least two coats of good paint or stain.To hold window box
gardens securely, use bolts or lag screws and treat them beforehand to prevent
rusting. Petunias vie with geraniums in popularity, and any kind can be planted,
though the balcony types have the advantage of trailing gracefully over the
sides of the window box garden.The favorite plant in window box gardening is the
geraniumred or pink for white, cream, or light or dark blue boxes; white for
brown, blue, or red boxes.If you are handy with tools, you can make your own
window boxes of wood, following instructions in pamphlets from your nursery or
garden center. Space half-inch holes six to eight inches apart when building
your window box gardens. If the box garden is to rest on a terrace or other
solid surface, raise them on cleats or set up on bricks or blocks of wood so
drainage holes won't become clogged. The same is true of white flowers against
light surfaces, as white petunias against white or pale yellow boxes. If larger,
it is way too heavy to suspend and secure properly, and it cannot be lifted
easily, even by two people. However, they have the disadvantage of conducting
heat, thus overheating the soil in your window box garden. Traditional dark
green is satisfactory, though commonplace, unless you use a tint like apple
green.Happy Window Box Gardening!Copyright 2006 Mary Hanna All Rights Reserved.
Cuprinol or some other non-toxic material is excellent, but avoid creosote which
is poisonous to plants. Boxes, ten inches wide, take three rows of plants, tall,
medium, and low for edging
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