Dans Papers - May 11, 2007 - A Blooming View

Window boxes are a great alternative to a full-size garden, a way to bring color to just about anywhere and a fabulous way to show off your green thumb. With a few tips, a container, some soil and plants, you'll have a beautiful, manageable garden to call your own.

Today, window boxes are constructed from so many materials, including plastic, metal, terracotta, wood and fiberglass. Because of this variety you are able to coordinate with the exterior of your home. Prices range from five to over two hundred dollars. Go with your individual taste when choosing a container, but make certain that the support brackets you use to hang your window box will hold the container even when the plants have been watered and the soil is wet.

Window boxes that span the entire width of a window look best. When picking out a container, be sure to purchase one that has numerous drainage holes or add them yourself with a drill. Constantly saturated soil will cause plants to rot. Find a window box that is at least nine-inches deep, so the plant roots have room to grow. The box must be deep enough so the soil does not dry out too quickly.

If your window opens outward, mount the window box a minimum of six- inches from the windowsill so the plants are not damaged when opening the window. If your windows slide open or are double-hung, then the container can be mounted within an inch of the sill.

Plants grown in window boxes do not fare well in ordinary potting soil. It's a good idea to use a mixture of several types of growing material, including peat, perlite or vermiculite while including a fertilizer. You can buy a mixture called "soil-less" at your local gardening store. Use a fertilizer with this mixture because it is low in nutrients. Consider adding a water-absorbing polymer to decrease watering frequency. You can also consider installing a drip irrigation system into your window box or creating one yourself. This ensures that the soil does not dry out, which is especially important if your plants are placed in full sun.

Whether you choose to make your window box home to flowers, a place for butterflies and hummingbirds to stop by or even a vegetable or herb garden, be sure to remember that young plants adapt best to transplanting. Choose plants after examining their roots and looking for foliage that is healthy and not yellowing. When trying to determine suitable plants for your container, consider the climate of the location and the degree of care you are willing to provide.

Choose flowers whose colors complement each other and be sure to consider placement before planting. Plants that will cascade over the box, such as ivy, should be placed on the sides of the box and taller plants should be placed toward the back. Do not choose plants so tall that they will obscure the view of your window. It's a good idea to arrange the plants in the window box while they are still in their pots. You can even choose to leave plants in their pots for easier removal if they wither.

If you do choose to arrange flowers in a window box with soil, place the plants much closer together than you would in a flowerbed, about 2-5 inches apart, depending on the size of the plant at maturity. Do not plant your flowers in rows, as it will appear too rigid. Instead, try to stagger plants in a zigzag like pattern.

It is important to provide regular maintenance to a window garden. Water it frequently, especially in warm weather. This may mean once a day in extremely hot weather. Fertilize your garden at least once a month. Practice deadheading of dead, dying or fading flowers and occasionally prune new growth every few days.

The most important thing to remember is to be creative with your window box. You can place them anywhere you like - on a balcony, patio, fire escape or even indoors. If you take care of your window box and flowers, they will reward you with beauty throughout the year.