Dress up your windows and walls

Let your personality blossom, and give your home a distinctive appearance.

Window boxes and containers that hug the house get color up close and personal. They put tiny gardens in unexpected places and are a fun expression of individual style. Follow our tips for great-looking combinations and placement ideas.

Window Dressings

Cottages, bungalows, and casual entrances lend themselves to window boxes. Their nature invites casual plantings overflowing with color and texture. Here are some things to remember when planning and planting.

* Drainage is a must. If your box is not predrilled, add holes, each at least a 1/2 inch in diameter. In a container more than a foot long, make multiple openings, spacing them a foot apart.

* A 1-inch layer of foam peanuts in the bottom prevents soil from escaping and adds insulation for roots.

* Add moisture-retaining polymer to the potting mix in hot, sunny boxes. This decreases daily water needs.

* Feed your box weekly with a liquid, flower-boosting fertilizer such as 15-- 30-15. Watering the container prior to feeding will prevent fertilizer bum.

Added Benefits

Place a window box container to give privacy to a room in public view. Plant the container lush and full for impact. In our example, a terra-cotta box fits nicely on a wide window ledge, creating a living screen for a bathroom window. Clay pot feet slide under the front edge to level this container, which is on a sloping surface.

Impatiens cover the front of the box in colorful profusion, and tall cast-iron plant (Aspidistra elatior) adds height and year-round foliage to fill out the back.

Recycle Containers

Jan Feamster, a garden designer in Mooresville, North Carolina, has found a new use for her old wall fountain. Tired of having pump and maintenance problems, she transformed the former water feature into a wonderful wall planter. She has planted the wide, shallow pocket with low-maintenance caladiums, impatiens, 'Gold 'n' Pearls' bacopa, and variegated sweet flag. Because this unconventional container does not have a drainage hole, Jan simply waters the plants sparingly whenever they require a drink.

DRESS UP YOUR WINDOWS AND WALLS

Page 106: Design by Jan Feamster Landscape Design, Mooresville, North Carolina, (704) 663-0500.

Copyright Southern Progress Corporation Mar 2003
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