Boxing CLEVER

Brighten up your house front and bring cheer to your neighbourhood with eye-catching window boxes

- GERALDINE SWEENEY

Window boxes are great for everyone – they brighten the front of the house and the environment generally, providing enjoyment for passers-by too. Go traditional or ring the changes with something different – maybe clashing colours. Or help the environment by choosing bee-friendly plants. And how about using decorative edibles? Give your creativity-free rein and the neighbours’ compliments will roll in!

CHOOSE A CONTAINER

Match your planting container to your house front: choose terracotta to go with red brick, galvanised steel for modern houses and wood for cottage windowsills, If using wooden ones, line them with plastic.

Now look at the front of your house and see what colour stands out to you? Is it the colour of the front door or a gate? Select plants that match or contrast strongly with this. Use several shades of one colour for an elegant, harmonious look. Or for impact, choose opposites like red/green, purple/yellow, orange/blue.

For sunny windowsills, pelargoniums, verbenas and petunias are brilliant. In shady spots, you can still get plenty of colour from shade-tolerant nicotiana and calendula.

Select a plant for height in the centre, like a spiky cordyline, tall pelargonium, or even a grass. Complement with filler plants like verbena or petunia, and finish with trailers to tumble down the front like calibrachoa, Helichrysum ’Limelight’ (gold) or Dichondra ‘Silver Falls’.

PLANTING UP