If I had to pick my all time favorite thing about Spring aside from the obvious.. (the hope of sunny warmer days), it would most definitely be planning and planting my window boxes. I love visiting all the greenhouses first thing as they open up early in April.
Am I weird that I like the smell of dirt? Well, hanging out at the greenhouse is a definite happy place for me. So much eye candy! Looking at all the new varieties of plants and planning out my summer containers and gardens is just as much FUN for me as getting my hands in the dirt.
Side note- Not sure if you have greenhouses near you that do early planting parties but those are FUN to attend when you’re itching to dig in the dirt. They usually happen some time in March around here and you can bring in your pots you want to plant and they provide the dirt and the plants. You get to walk around and pick out which ones you want, just like you would normally do, but you plant them there and they grow them for you inside the greenhouse until its warm enough for you to bring them home. Always a FUN start to Spring!
With so many plants to choose from though it’s definitely easier to put together a container when everything is in full bloom, and you can see what the flowers look like. I have had window boxes on every house I’ve had and I want to share with you my favorite easy-care, sun-loving flowers that always do great for me time after time. I’m sure you’ve heard the term “Thrillers, Fillers and Spillers” as a recipe for most garden containers. The Thrillers being the tall plants, that would generally go in the middle of a planting pot or in the back of a window box. The Fillers that surround the Thriller or in this case sit just in front of the taller plants and the Spillers that spill over the edge.
So let’s start with some favorite Thrillers.
1. Geraniums
The Zonal Geraniums in particular, they are propagated to produce a larger bloom and a sturdier, taller stem. The seed Geraniums are more compact and produce smaller flowers. So keeping with the idea that the Thriller plants will be in the back, the Geraniums give that bigger wow factor because of the large flower, and stand a little taller in the back to show off.
This year I went with Super Moon Red. They seem to be a bluer red and it shows up nice against my house. I also added a Thriller companion to the Geranium in the back row this year…
2. Salvia
Salvias also get quite tall and serve as a great backdrop to the fillers in front.
The Salvia I went with is a Cathedral Deep Blue and can get about 18″ tall and the Geranium can reach about 14″.
3. Lantana
Lantana is a Thriller / Filler / Spiller! It gets as tall as the Salvia but also works its way through the other plants as a Filler and loves to Spill over the edge as well.
Along with the Lantana for a Filler, I went with…
4. Zahara Zinnia
Zinnias get quite full and fill in the middle of the box nicely, making for another perfect filler without taking over like petunias can.
There are lots of different colors to choose from as well. I paired these with another orange that tends to Fill and Spill..
5. Bidens
Bidens are quite showy but require some deadheading to keep them clean. They also come in yellow. This variety is called Campfire FireBurst.
It’s hard to beat that true orange color.
6. Calibrachoa
There are so many varieties of Calibrachoa to choose from. Colors, sizes, doubles..all of them being the perfect Spiller.
This is a Double Deep Yellow ..isn’t it just the sweetest?! Such a great golden yellow. I also chose a bigger one that was purple to spill over as well. The bigger ones are called Super Bells, this variety being Grape Punch.
I love how the yellow center pairs well with the Double Yellow minis . The Calabrachoa fills and spills in any container just perfectly!
7. Trailing Verbena
Trailing Verbena is my favorite spiller! There is an upright version of Verbena as well so make sure you look at the tag when picking one out.
This one just caught my attention .. Twisted Lanai, just had to give it a try! There are so many different colors of Verbena though, you’ll have FUN picking one out.
When creating a container, texture is just as important as color. I love for the flowers I pick to vary in size and shape. Some being globe shaped, others having more petals on a single flower, still others being more spiky. I also love for the leaves to vary in texture and color. Introducing…
8. Persian Sheild
Persion Sheild is a gorgeous Thriller, adding color with its leaves alone. It can be planted in a sun or shade container.
One of my favorite Spillers that gives interest in its variegated leaves alone…
9. Desert Daisy
This sweet plant just goes crazy in any container whether in the sun or the shade. I love no-fail plants like this one.
Once again giving such a FUN succulent like texture.
And lastly, the cutest little dainty, lime green colored spiller…
10. Creeping Jenny
I always love a pop of lime green hanging in the front, it can pop just as much as any of the flowers..and breaks up all the other green.
Occasionally I’ve used Sweet Potato Vine for that pop of lime but they can tend to take over. With creeping Jenny..more times than not it will come back in my containers and / or in the ground beneath it where it reseeded. In the ground it can tend to takeover, but in a container it’s easy enough to pull out. It sure does save some money when you do a lot of containers.
So after having so much fun planning out my window boxes and purchasing the plants I make sure I get a good potting soil.
I picked this one up at Home Depot. Basically their own brand of potting mix that specifies its intended for containers and pots. Which usually just means it’s a lighter soil that will drain well. Most bags of soil will specify if it includes fertilizer, which this one does. I still fertilize with a bloom booster once a week.
This is granular and comes with a scoop to add to a normal size watering jug. It seriously makes all the difference when you feed your flowers!
My window boxes are built onto my house, but at my last house they sat on a brick ledge. So here I use window box liners that my husband made out of aluminum with handy dandy handles! 😉 The liners keep my wood boxes from rotting. There are quite a few places you can purchase liners as well.
After filling the boxes with the potting soil, I arrange the plants according to the height the tag says they will grow to. Remember…Thriller/ Filler/ Spiller. I have already thought through the colors and the textures at the greenhouse, so setting the plants in there first just assures me I thought it all through and I have enough to fill the space. I’m never overly concerned about how far apart the tag tells me to plant them, mainly because the growing season for annuals in a pot is relatively short lived, so planting them a little tighter in a container just makes them grow taller and fill in all the more.
Once you’ve gotten them all planted the care and keeping is relatively simple. 3 things…
1. Most likely they will need water once a day, maybe less during cooler weather or if it rains and possibly more than once a day if it’s super hot and gets 6+ hours of sun. If you’re unsure whether to water, a moisture meter is a handy tool to have. It measures how moist the soil is.
2. Deadheading.. pinching back all the flowers that are done and the leaves that have gotten yucky. It will allow the plant to produce new flowers quicker.
3. Fertilizing.. Once a week I fill a 2 gallon water jug and add a scoop of the bloom booster that I showed you and water as usual.
That’s it… So worth the enjoyment they give!
Stay tuned for part 2… the fun SHADE plants I picked for window boxes under the porches. 😉
