Window Box Planters Article

Window box planters for maximum curb appeal at minimum expense

When I was just barely in my twenties, I rented a small house in San Francisco, just two blocks from the beach. The house was modest and plain, but had a small front yard with little else growing besides an abundance of cineraria, a lovely perennial with purple-magenta daisy like flowers. My house had a porch and two windows facing the street, under which were a couple of dilapidated window box planters, with nothing inside of them, not even dirt. I found my new house to be charming. Not having enjoyed the luxury of a garden in previous third-story Victorian apartments, I was delighted at this diamond in the rough. It just needed a little TLC to make it come alive.

I decided that my first improvement would be filling those window box planters. My budget was as modest as the house, so I wanted maximum bang for my buck. The window boxes were a natural starting point. A little potting soil and some flowers and I'd be in business.

 

Because it was early winter when I moved in, my thoughts immediately went to daffodils and tulips, which could be easily planted for lots of spring color in just a few months. I could easily visualize this burst of color surrounding the front door. Once my bulbs were in, I could set my mind to planning for the summer occupants of my window box planters. The microclimate of San Francisco's beach area was fairly restrictive. Fog, fog and more fog. This foggy climate was made even more monochromatic by the gray wooden walls of the house, gray composition roof and yes, you guessed it, gray window box planters. Someone had no imagination.

I chose a red paint, leaning towards magenta to paint the trim, front door and the window boxes. Yes! It looked better already. This made the cineraria stand out nicely and livened up the exterior of the house significantly.

When the tulips and daffodils finally surfaced and bloomed, I was delighted. I'd decided by then what I'd be planting for summer and fall, which coincidentally, but happily, went well with my window box planter color. I carefully interplanted begonias, purple and magenta fuchsias between the bulbs and threw in some deep blue trailing lobelias for good measure. By the time the bulbs died down for the summer, these new residents were well entrenched, thriving in the moist and overcast environment. I discovered that variegated coleus inserted yet more color. Visitors commented positively on this delicious display.

As fall turned to winter, white, red and pink cyclamens replaced the summer residents. The begonias came inside to sit out the winter in pots. Meanwhile, spider plants and ferns started populating the underside of the porch's roof, hanging from their hooks like so many ballroom belles. It's absolutely amazing what a couple of four foot window box planters can do.

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