Free windowboxes... how to get the best from them

Tygermoth

Morning all,

I have been given ten sturdy window boxes with 'hookover' brackets as a unexpected gift.

The person who gifted them to me bought them especially to hang off an ugly wall the back windows of the house look out on to as a 'cover up'

However they have got their measurements wrong and the hook over brackets they come with drop the boxes so low down the wall you cant see them at all from the windows! in fact any plant in them would have to be about 80cm high to be seen. (i cant afford to pay for the twenty brackets to sort out the issue i will just be able to afford to put some plants in there!)

She cant take them back and they fit fine on the awkward wall so any ideas for a tall pretty flowering plant that will thrive in a window box? one that will come back year after year (as filling ten boxes each year will get rather expensive) Ps the location is shaded in the morning and sunny in the afternoon.

I should mention i am not a great gardener, but will try my best.

I_have_spoken

Keeping tall perennial plants staked and happy in window boxes sounds too tricky. What about planting with annual creepers like Nasturtium, sweet peas and Morning glory that will grow up quickly to cover the wall and can be changed every year?

Primrose

I wonder if foxgloves would fit the bill? They can grow between three and five five feet high and self seed so once they've flowered you just shake the seeds off into the soil and they will grow and regenerate. They don't mi d slightly shady conditions.
Avoid gladioli. They grow tall but need to be staked to avoid fhem toppling over them

If yiu want something different, try growing Bright Lights Swiss chard which is a vegetable with bright red and yellow coloured stems which are very attractive and have the benefit of being able to be cooked and eaten like spinach. That too doesn,r mind a slightly shady position and grow abkut 12 - 18 inches high You would have to resow every year but it continues growing through the winter and is quite hardy . YOu simoly buy a £2,50 packey of new seeds every year and resow. One packet would cover all your window boxes

If you're not sure what to grow , try something different in each wi dow box, experiment and see what works well and what doesn't. It will at least be an interesting experiment . YOu could even try some tumbling tomato olants if the boxes get some sun. They only grow a foot tall but you can get red and yellow varieties, which would five you some free food.

Tygermoth

Thank you both

I like the idea of foxgloves but don't they take a number of years to flower?

(Off to check them out on the internet)

As money is tight I was kind of looking for a sure fire starter so I don't waste any pennies

snowdrop1967

How about fleabane daisy, I bought a packet of seeds last year and they flowered with pink and white little daisies all summer and are getting ready to start flowering again. Could be invasive but fine in a planter.

Tygermoth

Hi all,

Just a update. ended up going with a budget option as 10 boxes are a lot!

T&M were offering 24 lavenders for £1.99 so that's what i got.

They apparently grow quite well in poor soil with tight root spaces so i will just put some of the garden mud with a bit of compost mixed in.

I will keep my fingers crossed