Window boxes

Pinecones, evergreens, and winterberries are tucked into a box planted with boxwood bushes and ivy plants, giving it a lush look during a time when it is hard to grow leafy greens.

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Select a thriller, a spiller and a filler. The thriller (aka the uppy) is the focal point, soaring toward the heavens; the spiller (aka the downy) grounds the plantings in the pot, softening its hard edges and drawing the eye downward; and the filler (aka the bulky) allows the eye to rest in between points of interest (that is to say, the uppy and the downy). Consider the qualities each component brings as you’re formulating your composition — beyond color, plants can bring textural interest, contrast in form, movement and more.

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End-of-season care. Once your window box starts to look tired, pull out annuals and add them to the compost pile. Flowering perennials and perennial herbs, like rosemary, can be transferred to garden beds or left in the window box for another season. Evergreen shrubs and conifers can stay in the window box year-round, as long as they can withstand winter temperatures in your region.

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This window box grows in partial shade and features tuberous begonia, ‘Gartenmeister Bonstedt’ fuchsia (Fuchsia ‘Gartenmeister Bonstedt’), Scotch moss (Sagina subulata ‘Aurea’), variegated jasmine (Jasminus sp.) and trailing Muehlenbeckia sp.

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use plants that adhere to the -iller rule: THRILLER SPILLER FILLER

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pack lots of plants into each box

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Consider: sealing box with cement roof sealant prime and paint box WATER frequently fertilize 2x/month use trailing plants and tiny evergreen topiaries

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Make the window box slightly wider than the window Consider the brackets to be a significant architectural feature. Plant hanging/trailing plants to soften the box edges.

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