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Jun 07, 2023

Front of house: pretty ideas for window boxes and planters

Give your home instant kerb appeal with these colourful displays – and there’s

Give your home instant kerb appeal with these colourful displays – and there's one for every spot

My house has had so many renovations that it has been left with the characterless exterior typical of a face that's had all its wrinkles removed. On top of that, there is no front garden because it sits right on the pavement of the main route out of town. In another life, I might chip away at the plaster until its lovely old stone was revealed, but time is short and flowers are plentiful.

So, instead of going at it with a chisel, I am going to add window boxes, and planters round the door, to create a more uplifting, appealing welcome. The house will gain character and instead of looking out of my window at traffic, I can be distracted by flowers and greenery. There's no reason why all our windows shouldn't be crowned in something floral.

All the best-looking window boxes and planters have one thing in common – they are loved. So be consistent with watering and feeding. Making plants live in tiny spaces is asking a lot of them, so don't starve them – use a liquid feed such as seaweed, every seven to 10 days. Life on the edge can be brutal, too, so choose the right containers, and plants adapted to your conditions.

Once filled with soil, planted up and watered, a window box is heavy, and potentially dangerous if it falls. A few screws each side of the window and a piece of wire are not sufficient in high winds. Get substantial brackets, use the appropriate wall plugs and screws, and go in beyond the plaster.

If you don't have much of a ledge, use a trough or window box frame. A well-made trough is about £50, a frame between £100 and £140. Frames are designed to accommodate pots or containers, but you can plant directly into the trough using a liner.

Plastic makes the most sense as it is light and won't dry out quickly. Metal may look good, but if your aspect is south- or west-facing it can heat up and burn developing roots. Wood is heavy when wet, but means you can make something bespoke relatively cheaply.

Whatever your container, you need a minimum depth of 30cm. If it's shallower than that you must stick to growing alpines, succulents and very small ferns. If you can get hold of horticultural wool (or recycle the Woolcool that comes with food deliveries), line your window boxes with this to help cut down on watering.

Here are window boxes and planters for every type of site, and tips on choosing your container.

If your ledge is in full sun and exposed to wind, look to the mountains, where plants have adapted by creeping along rock faces and making homes in crevices. The bonus is that they have shallow roots, so you can get away with a 15cm-deep planter.

Alpines and succulents have thick leaves that don't dry out and can cope with bright conditions, but they must have the right soil. Add 50% grit to your compost mix to ensure good drainage.

I think the best displays go for a mixture of plants, to create a miniature garden effect, rather than mono planting. Succulents such as Sempervivum tectorum and Sedum spathulifolium ‘Purpureum’ are perhaps the most drought-resistant. For floral interest add saxifraga, with its mossy foliage and starry flowers in white, pinks and reds. Try S. arendsi, S. paniculata ‘Rosea’, S. hypnoides or the tiny, but punchy yellow flowers of Draba rigida v. imbricata or Draba aizoides.

The thrift Armeria juniperifolia, from central Spain, is as tough as old boots, with cushions of pretty pink flowers; if you sit in reach of sea spray, go for Armeria maritima instead.

If you can water more often, aubretia are wonderful things: the Cascade group comes in purple, blue or slightly pinkish-red, will flower on and off from early spring through to autumn and trail delightfully over the edge of window boxes. All these plants are much loved by bees, too.

Out of the wind, you can get away with using larger-leaved plants, but you will have to water daily in the summer if you want full-looking boxes. Doubles, bicolour and other overbred petunias are perhaps too much, but a single-coloured petunia is not to be sniffed at. They are tough and will work hard for you, creating a great mass of flowers and foliage all summer long if you water, feed and deadhead regularly.

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For something wilder-looking, the tiny white-and-pink daisies of Erigeron karvinskianus never fail to please, and work well with something like Allium nutans to create an effortless, foolproof display. Another option is the daintier cultivars of sweet williams, Dianthus barbatus or cheddar pinks, D. gratianopolitanus, which will weave their way elegantly through the daisies. Or mix the California poppy, Eschscholzia californica ‘Rose Chiffon’ to complement the daisies as they turn pink with age.

For a cheaper option, dabble with a wildflower mix. Most of the species won't grow to full height in a window box and you certainly don't need to sow the whole packet, which is usually enough to do square metres of soil. Use just a pinch and water regularly and you’ll be surprised how many of the species will adapt to the conditions and give pollinators a small meadow to marvel in.

Shady window boxes are a lot more fun than you’d imagine. You will have to water, but not as tirelessly as something that bakes all afternoon, and although you don't get so much colour to play with, you won't be deadheading endlessly. Try adding composted bark to your potting compost to increase water-holding capacity.

Tiarella, heuchera, Lamium orvala and ferns give good foliage planted between delicate flowers of things such as Geranium phaeum ‘Alba’ or brooding ‘Raven’, or wildflowers such as campion, Silene vulgaris and S. fimbriata or Welsh poppy Meconopsis cambrica. Smaller umbels such as Ligusticum scoticum, the Scotch lovage that won't mind the squeeze of a container, or Pimpinella major ‘Roseum’ or the delightful blue daisies of Felicia amelloides will flower into autumn if you deadhead regularly.

In deep shade, you will not get an abundance of flowers, but you can make up for that with textures. Try ferns, such as Asplenium scolopendrium and cultivars Adiantum imbricatum, Athyrium filix-femina and smaller shield ferns such as Polystichum setiferum ‘Plumosum Densum’, and of course ivies, such as Hedera helix ‘Duckfoot’, H. helix ‘Triton’, ‘Lalla Rookh’, ‘Green Ripple’ or ‘Cockle Shell’ .

If possible, add composted bark mulch to your potting mix to create richer soil conditions. The plants I’ve suggested are pretty tough, so you should be able to get away with watering the box or planter just once a week in the growing season, unless the weather is extremely hot.