This small-scale garden project will instantly transform your yard each season.
Looking for a simple, but high-impact gardening project?
Consider revamping your window boxes.
Credit: Hector Sanchez
Beautiful gardens in miniaturethat’s the essential appeal of window boxes.
The small scale of these planting projects makes it incredibly easy to change your blooms with the seasons.
Say hello to maximumcurb appealyou’ll be stunned at the difference a fresh window box can make.
Credit: Robbie Caponetto; Styling: Buffy Hargett Miller; Container Arrangements: Tom Ericson/The Transplanted Garden; Location: The Cottages at Ocean Isle Beach, NC
Place Within Reach
“They’re a lot like puppieshigh maintenance but really cute.”
Plant Vines For Drama
Jen Stringer Obi designed this stop- and-stare sight.
Designer Tip
“Start with a well-draining potting soilyou don’t want to use anything too heavy.
Credit: Hector Sanchez
Don’t plant in topsoil, as it will rot your plants out.”
“When you’re planting annuals, their roots are often very compacted.
Loosen them up a bit.
Credit: Hector Sanchez
I think some people are scared that they might kill them, but the roots are tough.”
The extra touch will make a utilitarian building a charming part of your property.
Tropical Window Box
This window box by Kelli Shaw illustrates her characteristically bold and unexpected design approach.
Credit: Laurey W. Glenn; Styling: Lizzie Cox
A red-centered, starlike bromeliad appears to burst from the box.
Andred-stemmed caladiumsecho that color.
“Plants need to be watered before they’re planted.
Credit: Hector Sanchez
Water them while they’re in the little plastic pots.
In the meantime, fine-textured foliage and a smattering of flowers create plenty of curb appeal.
“Be mindful of all of the physical aspects of gardening.
Credit: Hector Sanchez
you gotta lift carefully and bend properly.
The contrasting white and blue blooms won’t be outshined in this setting.
Japanese iris is the thriller.
Credit: Photo: Ralph Anderson, Window Box Design: Tracee Lund
Pink and red ivy geraniums, dark red calibrachoa, and purple Lanai verbena are spillers.
The white, chartreuse, and green also pick up the colors of the house and small front garden.
Begin with a focal point, the one element that draws attention.
Credit: Photo: Ralph Anderson, Window Box Design: Tracee Lund
In this window box, a tall pyramid-shaped boxwood serves as the anchor plant.
To each side, a small, round boxwood repeats the texture and fills the container with substantial foliage.
Accent the green with bright red nandina berries gathered from the yard.
Credit: Photo: Ralph Anderson, Window Box Design: Tracee Lund
In the South, this cold-hardy green can dress up a window box from fall until late spring.
Pull out sunburnt or frost-bitten flowers in the late fall and replace them for seasonal color.
Look forcompact hydrangeassuch as ‘Pink Elf,’ which only grows to 24 inches tall.
Credit: Photo: Van Chaplin, Window Box Design: Tracee Lund
Plant it in the center for dramatic impact, and monitor soil moisture frequently.
Hydrangeas are thirsty container plants and do best when watered regularly.
Credit: Photo: Joseph De Sciose
Credit: Photo: Ralph Anderson
Credit: Hector Manuel Sanchez; Styling: Buffy Hargett Miller
Credit: Hector Manuel Sanchez
