Tips for Successful Window Box Gardening

Window boxes are not just for raising colorful flowers to enhance the look of your home’s exterior. They are also great for vegetable and herb gardens. If outdoor space is limited and you miss the freshness of homegrown food, invest in window box gardens and strategically place them below windows, along porch railings, or in any sunny location.

What size window box is best?

Mind your proportions: a window box should be the same width as a window and not more than 1/4 of the height to allow for flower height. The last thing you want from a window box is for it to overwhelm the window and block the light. Shallow window boxes 2-4″ deep can make a decorative statement along railings and set along smaller windows. Long and deep flower boxes that are 8 inches tall and up to 4 feet long are great for bigger windows.

But the dimensions are also important when considering what to plant. Most flowers and many vegetables will thrive in eight-inch-deep window boxes. Plants that do well in 2-4 inches of soil include:

• Ferns
• Ivy
• Herbs
• Periwinkles
• Leafy vegetables like lettuce

Make sure you can easily access your window box

Window boxes should have easy access for watering, weeding, and harvesting food without a lot of effort. When planning beautiful window boxes to adorn front windows, consider how you will be able to maintain them. Some windows today simply do not open, and climbing on a ladder to reach second-floor windows outside can make for difficult care. Self-watering boxes are a help, but sooner or later you will physically have to reach your window box for further work. Consider a few of these options: 

• Place window boxes only at ground-level windows
• Place them only where windows open
• Start out with a kitchen window only

Adding window boxes to other areas later on is always an option as you learn what works best for your home. A garden shed with small windows is a good place to start. This will give you an opportunity to take notice of the sun and shade conditions in raising your plants.

How to Keep the Plants in Window Boxes Healthy

Regardless of what you planted in your window boxes, take the time to learn how to keep your plants thriving. Plush plants don’t just happen. Certain plants require lots of sunlight while others need shade in order to thrive. Some plants do better with less frequent watering, while others need to get as much water as they can. Make sure to do in-depth research on all of your plant selections, in order to make sure that your window box garden is positioned for success. Here are a few things to consider with window boxes: 

• Check for adequate drainage holes
• Make sure the mounts are sturdy 
• Line the bottom of the window box with pea gravel 
• Use quality good potting soil (never soil from the yard)
• Never overwater

Tips for window box plant care

It takes a combination of weather, hardiness zone, humidity, and a green thumb for growing the best quality plants. However, assisting your plants along the way can help make plants robust.

• Water your plants along the soil line at the same time each morning. The soil should be kept damp, but never saturated or dry.
• Use water-storing crystals. These amazing little crystals will help you in your quest to never over- or under-water your plants. The crystals store an overabundance of liquid until needed.
• Fertilize your plants on a regular basis, but do not treat flowers and vegetables the same. While flowers love fertilizer, vegetables will not produce if too much fertilizer is used.
• Arrange your flowers, herbs and vegetable plants accordingly. While flowers can be planted close together, many edibles cannot. Tight clusters of flowers create a gorgeous thick appearance, but edibles need root and leaf space to deliver healthy fruit.
• Interplanting edibles with flowers will help to repel pests while attracting bees and butterflies.  But do some research first, as some vegetables cannot be planted with certain flowers.
• There are several varieties of plants that work well together. If you are just starting out with a window garden, stick with the simple, easy-to-grow favorites like lettuce, spinach, petunias, marigolds and parsley. As you become familiar with how plants complement each other during the season, add additional species the followng seasons.
• Soil, water, sun, type of plant and compatibility have a lot more to do with your window boxes thriving than your paranoia over not having a green thumb. 

Author’s bio: Ronnie Edwards is a content writer for Flower Window Boxes, the leading window box and outdoor planter manufacturer in the United States. He writes in-depth articles about gardening best practices, edible plant solutions, and the benefits of window box gardening methods. In his free time, he can be found tending to his balcony garden and spending quality time with his fiancé.