I can see the planter on the side so, I assume the New Guinea's are in pots inside the planter, and not in earth. It might be that the pots they are in are too small, and that is why they are smaller.

If you are looking for a showy white flower you can't go wrong with Begonias. As long as they are shaded during the heat of the day they bloom their hearts out.

I like the Go Go tuberous Begonia. The flowers are roselike and about 3 inches across. There will be some single blooms too. Begonias send out male and female flowers, usually on the same stem. The female is the single bloom and the males are the showier rose form. Have a look at the link below

Here is a link that might be useful: Go Go white Begonia

oilpainter, OMG---LOVE, LOVE, LOVE! I don't know anything about Begonias--never even considered them. Will be googling my heart out in the morning. Thank you for the suggestion!

A few questions after researching begonias... Do I really need to stake them? Way more high maintainance than I'd like. :( Came across double impatiens as an option since I really do like the look of the tuberous begonias and they seem similar. Can you tell me in your experiences with both which is easier to maintain and which is more apt to fill in nice and lush during the summer?

I don't know which Begonias you were looking at--there are lots of different kinds--Annual, fibrous and tubal. They run from the tall to the short--from small single flowers to the larger doubles roselike flowers.

The one I suggested is called Go Go. That is the name of the begonia. If you can't get that variety try the Non-stop variety. Both have the larger roselike flowers. They grow about 12 inches tall and require no staking. They do require fertilizer--I use the time release fertilizer and they like to be kept moist but not too wet. The only care besides that is to pick up the dead blooms when they fall off the plant and to pinch off the seed pod when this happens.

The double Impatien may look like the Go Go in photos, but the flower is much smaller--about 1/3 the size of the Go Go or non-stop. I have grown the Non-stop for years, but this year I discovered the Go Go and I like it better. I'm going to try and post a photo of my non-stop and lobelia taken in June of last year

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Thank you! I had a hard time finding any online retailers that sell the Go-Go's, but I will see if I can get them locally. Very pretty picture too :) Do you think mixing the begonias with double impatiens (I know, I'm getting crazy lol) would be alright? It seems their sun requirements are the same, but how about water? Might be kind of pretty... the big begonia blooms coupled with the miniature double impatiens?

Sure mix them if you like. It might be very pretty and the Impatiens would probably spill down the side of your planter box.

I posted the picture so you could get a sense of the size of it, but I forgot to tell you the size of the pot. That pot is 10 inches square and 9 1/2 inches tall. The Begonia will get a bit taller than that, but not too much taller. It will also bush out a bit.

I bought my plants at my local greenhouse--one that grows it's own plants. They grow them from the tubers these plants make. Why don't you visit one in your neighborhood and tell them you are interested in buying some next year. What do you want to bet they will grow some for you. Greenhouses have lots of resources you and I don't.

Joanne, something else to think about is that both begonias and impatiens come in upright and trailing varieties. You could do a mix of uprights and trailers, to fill out your containers more and make it really lush. I think a mix of all-white flowers would look lovely, fresh and cool.

Lobelia, that blue flower in oilpainter's picture, does come in pure white as well. They thrive in cool weather with morning sun/afternoon shade. Unfortunately they don't like the summers here and tend to die once it actually gets hot. I plant some every year, enjoy it while it lasts, and I'm always sad to see it go.

Fuchsia is another morning-sun plant, but for me it has been more of a challenge than begonias. They come in many colors besides fuchsia, including white. I'm trying "Angel Earrings White" this year; it's supposed to be more heat-tolerant and sun-tolerant than regular fuchsias.

If you want to get really crazy, ;-) add a green-and-white coleus, like "White Fingers" or "Lime Frill." Coleus is a great mixer and will do well in the same conditions as all of the other plants suggested.

Oilpainter, thanks for posting that Go-Go, it's beautiful!

Here is a link that might be useful: Lime Frill Coleus

Wow, thank you so much for all of the ideas! I will look into all of them--and think that coleus would be lovely mixed in there.... uh oh, she's thinking about mixing up plants... lol I just am pretty new at this, and intimidated to try fancy planters.

In each long wooden planter I have 2 plastic rectangular liners placed right next to eachother. They are 2ft. long by 7 inches wide and 5-6 inches deep. I put 3 NG impatiens plants in each this year, and I think I should have done at least 4.... they just never filled out like I wanted them to. Is there any guide line to planting in a narrow space like this? Like, if I choose to do multiple plants is 7 inches wide enough to put one plant in front, and one in back? I guess I'm warry to cram in plants--but I'm thinking that's exactly what I'm going to have to do to get a really full planter... right? I'm really good about keeping up on the watering-- I love going out there and piddling around in the morning. Is that the only issue I'll face if I do that? And lets say I just end up going with 2 plants (I trailing double impatien and an upright begonia)--- How many of each would you place in that size liner? Would I put them all in a line, or put one in front, one in back etc.

Thanks so much for answering my questions--I know I have a lot. I'm learning so much from you all--thank you!

It sounds and looks like your liners are much smaller than your planters. You are never going to get the lush full look you are after with those small containers. The roots are the most important part of the plant and you can't have lush top growth if the roots are squeezed into a small space. If you want to protect the boxes why not line them with rigid styrofoam and plant right in them. Make sure you have drainage holes in the bottom and cut them out of the foam. A bonus is that at Christmas you could fill them with evergreen boughs and holly or any colorful cuttings.

Don't be intimidated by trying to make a fancy planter. All it takes is a good eye and a bit of knowledge about plants. You want something tall, graduating down to something to spill over the edge. A lot of the information you need is on the plant labels of the plants you buy. For instance you could plant like this--- in the middle of the planter starting about 5 inches in from the side edge plant 2 begonias, a coleus, 2 begonias, a coleus and 2 more begonias. Then ring the box with the Impatiens planting between the plants in the middle. Or-- plant 2 coleus in the middle and the begonias on the ends and again ring it all with the Impatiens. A good idea is to set the pots in the planter before you plant, to see if you get the effect you want.

I hope this has given you some ideas

Single-variety planters take just as much watering and grooming as fancy planters. If you want to mix plants, go for it. If you prefer the look of all-one-variety, then do that instead. You're the one who will see it daily.

You can certainly put together something fabulous from catalogs, but for your first combo, go easy on yourself. I recommend you go to a friendly nursery where they will let you play around a bit. Take one of your favorite plants on a tour of the nursery and put it next to anything else you like the look of. Pick out some friends for your favorite. Check labels and ask the staff, if necessary, to make sure all your choices need the same amount of light, food and water. Take a few of each plant that you like, and keeping them in their pots, place them on the counter, floor, little red wagon, etc. so you can see how they look together. Stand back and see how it looks. Try a few different arrangements. Make sure you buy enough plants to make your containers look full from the start. Have fun!

Oh, and at this point, you may be able to score some discounted or free plants to fill in what you have this year. Many nurseries do clearance sales this time of year. The plants may look sad, but they often bounce back after a couple of weeks of TLC. I picked up some free annuals today, from a nursery that wanted to get rid of them. They posted on Freecycle.
I love Freecycle.

Here is a link that might be useful: Freecycle

Ok, you've inspired me to give it a go. Thank you for the tip about the liners. Now that I think about it I see what you are saying---I am going to have to just fill the planters with dirt. Lining them with styrofoam (with drainage) is a great idea! I was worried about how to fill/refill the dirt every year, but I did a little research on the topic and it seems that many people do re-use the dirt, just adding compost manure to it and fresh soil each year. I was worried about any disease etc. but they mentioned that if they are outside in the freezing cold all winter (which they will be) that that would kill anything lurking inside. So really, filling them with dirt (rather than using the liners) will also be easier in the end. Thank you for helping me to think outside of the box! (Another reason why I love these forums) :)

Now I only have one problem...

In the Fall I plant tulips in the liners and overwinter them in my garage. I bring them out in the Spring so that I have tulips in the planters in April before I do my annuals in May. If the planters are filled with dirt, I won't be able to set the liners in without taking out almost all of the dirt to set them inside (way more work/mess on the porch than I'd like to do yearly.) I've been told that the tulips will freeze (I'm in zone 5b) if I plant them directly in the planters, because they are above ground technically......... Any ideas how I can still get tulips in there?

You wouldn't have to remove all the soil, just enough that your liners sit flush with the top of the planter. Save the soil in a pail or small garbage can. After you set the inserts in in the spring, pour it overtop and firm it in on the sides and ends to keep them stable. You are going to have to remove some soil anyway to amend the soil. What's left over can be amended too and used in other planters. I do this all the time with my planters. I have lots of them. I pitch the soil in the small ones into my flower beds. I reuse the soil from the bigger ones, add amendments and fill all my pots with it.

Another option-- you can line the planters with the styrofoam and plant your tulips right in the planter. The styrofoam will protect them from the freeze- thaw cycle.

Thank you! Hmmm, I would love to plant the tulips right in the planters.... Just regular styrofoam that I would get at a craft store in sheets? So I would line the bottom (drill drainage holes) and the sides as well right? I would love to plant the tulips right in the planter.... This year I did it in the liners, and my tulips were rather short (and not quite as beautiful as I had hoped.) I wonder if they didn't have enough room to spread their roots. The actual planters are much deeper---so it would help a ton with that.

I didn't know you could buy styrofoam in craft stores. I was thinking of the styrofoam you buy at a hardware store for insulation.

I have to say I use liners both to protect my window boxes and also to make it easy to swap the displays in and out. I have more liners than boxes so I don't have to hang out of the upstairs windows gardening. I just plonk a new liner in. But the liners are only a smidgeon smaller then the boxes so they fit in very snugly. Styrofoam won't stop your lovely wooden boxes getting damp unless you seal the joins.

Well, good news, I finally found deep liners....10 inches tall as opposed to 6. They are longer and wider too... completely fill my boxes. I do like the ease of the liners, just had a difficult time tracking bigger ones down. Thank you for all of your suggestions---they will all surely help me have some prettier flower boxes next summer :)

In making your planter box arrangements, don't overlook the houseplant dept in big box stores. I've used asparagus ferns,various small-leaved ivies, spider plant, etc for my part sun combo's. The ivy and asparagus have even overwintered in the garage with only monthly water; they are somewhat bedraggled by April but I just put them in place in May with some new potting mix and in a few weeks they look great and I can spend the savings on more "exotic" statement plants. Or you could pot them up for houseplants in the fall.
Pat

I used wave petunias in all of my planters around the deck railing last summer, and they were spectacular! They only got direct sun from about 2 p.m. til 6 ... I fed them regularly with Miracle Grow, deadheaded faithfully, and they were huge brilliant, dangling masses of hot pink color all summer long. One problem I had was little tiny caterpillars, the same color as the stems, and starting with the new, tender buds, they would destroy a whole plant in about two days. Once I began spraying with a pet-friendly pesticide, they were gone for a week or two but then returned. I've had all varieties of petunias for many years and never had the pest problem that I had last summer. So when you're deadheading, check carefully for these pests.