Window boxes

How charming and romantic is it to see small colorful window-sills blooming with flowers and other greens. Read more to learn about this.

It seems like a scene straight out of a fairy-tail movie! Dress-up your house with adorable window-boxes by following this simple guide on creating your very own flower and herbs window boxes at home.Window Boxes

Window boxes are popularly grown by residents who don’t have access to a garden or a roof to grow plants. Accentuate your house with several vertical-layers or horizontal-rows of window boxes that will add a softness to a concrete building. Grab attention of the passer-byes by planting colorful flowering-annuals or perennials. Or simply place a window box inside a kitchen-window to grow herbs or vegetables for an easily accessible miniature kitchen-garden.

Herbs in Window boxes- Mini Kitchen-Garden
Herbs in Window boxes: Miniature Kitchen-Garden

Material for a Window Box

A Window Box is usually fixed along an accessible window for a comfortable  care and maintenance of plants growing in it. It is usually installed under a window, affixed by brackets below. A Window Box can be made of wood, brick, metal, fiberglass, vinyl, and cellular PVC, with wood being a popular material of choice. A classical wooden window box may last  up to 10-15 years with proper painting and maintenance. Fiberglass is lightweight and insect proof whereas, Vinyl and cellular PVC are plastics which are rot-proof.

Window Boxes
Brackets installed below Window Boxes for support

Range of Plants for your Window Boxes

1. Flowering Plants: Angelwing Begonia, Hoya, Swedish Ivy, Wandering Jew, Purple Passion Plant, Coleus, Gardenia among many other small-sized annuals or perennials.

Window box
Petunias hanging from a Window box

2. Vegetables: One can go for Tomatoes, Carrots, Cherry tomatoes, Lettuce, Radishes, and Spinach.

3. Cacti and Succulents: Cacti and succulents are great for window sills where you know no one’s going to touch them. They need minimal care, watering and loads of sunlight.

Window boxes
Colorful Succulents in a Window Box

4. Herbs: 

  • Basil: Also known as “Tulsi” in our households, basil is an excellent herb for medicinal beauty as well as cooking purposes. Plant it preferably in the south direction as it loves the sun.
  • Bay leaf: The mighty “Tej Patta” is great for many dishes. This perennial plant should be preferably planted along an east or west-facing window.
  • Oregano: The love of the Italians, grow fresh oregano for your pastas ad to add European flavor to your dishes.
  • Parsley: Best for salads, this plant loves the sun so plant it along a south-facing window.
  • Rosemary: Known for its fragrance, it adds refreshing taste to morning-tea.
  • Thyme: One of the best additives for sauté vegetables, this plant grows best in the east or west direction.

    Window boxes
    Herbs by a Kitchen window

Caring for your Window Box Garden

  • Choose a location for the window box which is wide and receives at least 3-4 hours of daily sunlight.
  • Pick your choice of plants. Go for hardier plants for a cooler window-sill.
  • You can even use tea cups, discarded paint buckets, upcycled plastic containers, plastic pots or terracotta for creating your home-made window boxes. Just make sure that they have holes for drainage punched in them.
  • If possible, rotate the window boxes once in a while to expose the plants evenly to the sun.
  • Fertilize herbs once a month. Herbs produce the best flavor if you do not overfeed them. Keep them on a diet.

    Window Boxes
    Lovely Lilies for Window Boxes

Happy Gardening

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