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Window Box Planting Ideas for 4 Seasons of Interest
Dress up your home’s windows with flowers, foliage and more for year-round curb appeal
Window boxes can add a finishing touch to your home’s exterior year-round, whether they house bulbs in spring, a cascade of summer flowers, fall gourds and grasses or dwarf conifers in winter.
Planting strategies can be low-maintenance, with evergreen plants serving as a green filler all year. Or, you may want to change window box plantings entirely from season to season. Either way, take a look at these seasonal design ideas for colorful and creative window boxes, plus tips on transitioning between seasons.
Planting strategies can be low-maintenance, with evergreen plants serving as a green filler all year. Or, you may want to change window box plantings entirely from season to season. Either way, take a look at these seasonal design ideas for colorful and creative window boxes, plus tips on transitioning between seasons.
Spring
Pretty pastels. Nothing quite says spring like a window box filled to the brim with pastel blooms. Early in the season, greenhouse-grown bedding plants and potted bulbs are your best options for creating instant spring displays. Hydrangeas, pictured here, naturally bloom in summer, but nurseries stock greenhouse-grown plants in early spring. Pop the potted hydrangea (plastic nursery pots and all) into a window box planter to enjoy for the season and, afterward, plant them out in garden beds.
Plants list:
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Pretty pastels. Nothing quite says spring like a window box filled to the brim with pastel blooms. Early in the season, greenhouse-grown bedding plants and potted bulbs are your best options for creating instant spring displays. Hydrangeas, pictured here, naturally bloom in summer, but nurseries stock greenhouse-grown plants in early spring. Pop the potted hydrangea (plastic nursery pots and all) into a window box planter to enjoy for the season and, afterward, plant them out in garden beds.
Plants list:
- ‘Madame Emile Mouillere’ bigleaf hydrangea (Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Madame Emile Mouillere’; USDA zones 5 to 9; find your zone)
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Trough of tulips. Yes, this is a rooftop planter, not a window box, but the ideas seen here could easily be adopted on a smaller scale. White, pink-streaked and dark purple tulips form a blanket of color, with pops of deep-blue grape hyacinth, purple-leafed coral bells and daisy-like Latin American fleabane filling in around the base. For a window box planting, one could use the same planting palette — minus the olive trees, of course — for a fabulous spring display.
Plant list:
Plant list:
- Tulip (Tulipa sp.)
- Grape hyacinth (Muscari sp.)
- Latin American fleabane (Erigeron karvinskianus, Zone 6)
- Coral bells (Heuchera sp.)
- Creeping rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis ‘Prostratus’, zones 8 to 11)
Cool hues. Pansies and violas, cool-weather favorites, pair well together in this spring window box by Christine Darnell Gardens. They fill in quickly — particularly if, in mild climates, you plant them in fall, or just as soil warms up in spring — and keep flowering even if temperatures dip. Choose flowers in cool, harmonious hues to create a calming effect. Or pair violas with spring-flowering bulbs such as daffodils or tulips that have tall enough stems to emerge above the mounds of flowers.
Plant list:
Plant list:
- Pansy (Viola sp.)
- Violas (Viola sp.)
Summer
Brights in the shade. The vivid, sunset-like colors of pink and gold tuberous begonia and coral fuchsia brighten a partially shaded garden corner in Portland, Maine. The window box, designed by Irene Brady Barber, also features chartreuse variegated jasmine and mounds of golden Scotch moss. Begonias, as well as impatiens, are top choices for colorful, shade-tolerant bloomers that thrive in tight growing quarters.
Plant list:
Brights in the shade. The vivid, sunset-like colors of pink and gold tuberous begonia and coral fuchsia brighten a partially shaded garden corner in Portland, Maine. The window box, designed by Irene Brady Barber, also features chartreuse variegated jasmine and mounds of golden Scotch moss. Begonias, as well as impatiens, are top choices for colorful, shade-tolerant bloomers that thrive in tight growing quarters.
Plant list:
- Tuberous begonia (Begonia sp.)
- ‘Gartenmeister Bonstedt’ fuchsia (Fuchsia ‘Gartenmeister Bonstedt’, zones 8 to 12)
- Scotch moss (Sagina subulata ‘Aurea’, zones 4 to 8)
- Variegated jasmine (Jasminus sp.)
- Wire vine (Muehlenbeckia sp.)
Pink and white. Transitioning boxes from spring to summer offers an opportunity to swap out violas — which will quickly look spent as temperatures rise — for summer annuals like petunia, bacopa, lobelia and long-blooming perennials like geraniums. This colorful combination in New York by Astra Gardens features two types of pink geraniums, fragrant lavender for height and cloud-like billows of white lobelia.
Plant list:
Plant list:
- Lavender (Lavandula sp.)
- Geranium (Geranium sp.)
- Lobelia (Lobelia sp.)
TEA2 Architects
Trailing vines. For a window box that’s positioned to be admired from a distance, a mass of lush, trailing vines packs a visual punch. A combination of lush green and purple sweet potato vines and orange-flowering canna pop against the pale-colored shingle exterior of this Minnesota home, creating a statement that’s visible near and far.
Plant list:
Trailing vines. For a window box that’s positioned to be admired from a distance, a mass of lush, trailing vines packs a visual punch. A combination of lush green and purple sweet potato vines and orange-flowering canna pop against the pale-colored shingle exterior of this Minnesota home, creating a statement that’s visible near and far.
Plant list:
- Ornamental sweet potato vine (Ipomoea batatas cvs., zones 9 to 11)
- Canna (Canna sp.)
Cruse Consultants
Dynamic duo. For this French-inspired home in Orange County, California, a combination of geraniums and trailing ivy complete the scene. Geraniums are one of the all-star plants of summer window boxes. They bloom for months with little care and come in both bushy, upright forms and trailing varieties.
Plant list:
Dynamic duo. For this French-inspired home in Orange County, California, a combination of geraniums and trailing ivy complete the scene. Geraniums are one of the all-star plants of summer window boxes. They bloom for months with little care and come in both bushy, upright forms and trailing varieties.
Plant list:
- Geranium (Geranium sp.)
- Variegated ivy
Bold foliage. A variety of foliage textures and colors shine in these tropical-themed window box and entryway planters designed by Todd Holloway of Pot Incorporated. Sprays of papyrus add drama and vertical interest above trailing ‘Snowstorm’ bacopa and gray-green variegated ground ivy, which produces pale purple flowers in spring. Tufts of lime green Japanese forest grass anchor each end.
Plant list:
Plant list:
- Papyrus (Cyperus papyrus, zones 9 to 11)
- ‘All Gold’ Japanese forest grass (Hakonechloa macra ‘All Gold’, zones 4 to 9)
- Bacopa Snowstorm (Sutera cordata, zones 9 to 11)
- Variegated ground ivy (Glechoma hederacea ‘Variegata’, zones 4 to 9)
Fall
Autumn color. Moving into fall, decorative foliage plants, grasses, late-blooming perennials and dried accents take the place of warm-season annuals in window box displays. In this Chicago garden, designer Kathy Molnar Simpson of KMS Gardens and Design used a large ornamental cabbage to anchor each box, with ‘Prairie Fire’ carex, orange-flowering kalanchoe, ornamental ‘Chilly Chilly’ peppers and blue plumbago flowers filling in the sides. Decorative gourds and cones, both mounted on sticks, add even more color and seasonal interest.
Plant list:
Autumn color. Moving into fall, decorative foliage plants, grasses, late-blooming perennials and dried accents take the place of warm-season annuals in window box displays. In this Chicago garden, designer Kathy Molnar Simpson of KMS Gardens and Design used a large ornamental cabbage to anchor each box, with ‘Prairie Fire’ carex, orange-flowering kalanchoe, ornamental ‘Chilly Chilly’ peppers and blue plumbago flowers filling in the sides. Decorative gourds and cones, both mounted on sticks, add even more color and seasonal interest.
Plant list:
- ‘Savoy Ave’ ornamental cabbage (Brassica oleracea ‘Savoy Ace’)
- Prairie Fire sedge (Carex testacea ‘Indian Summer’, zones 6 to 10)
- Kalanchoe (Kalanchoe sp.)
- ‘Caramel’ coral bells (Heuchera ‘Caramel‘, zones 4 to 9)
- ‘Chilly Chilly’ ornamental peppers (Capsicum annuum ‘Chilly Chilly’)
- Cape plumbago (Plumbago auriculata, zones 9 to 11)
Ornamental grasses. Rippling in the slightest breeze, ornamental grasses provide window box gardens with unexpected movement and meadow-like views. Plant grasses in spring and enjoy them through summer and into fall, or add a few plugs or ornamental grasses in summer to transition a window box into fall. For this window box planting in London, designer Tor Cameron massed ornamental grasses to create a billowing, light-catching effect.
Consider grasses like New Zealand wind grass (Anemanthele lessoniana, zones 8 to 10) or ‘Blonde Ambition’ blue grama grass (Bouteloua gracilis ‘Blonde Ambition’, zones 3 to 10) for your window box garden.
Browse more ornamental grasses on Houzz
Consider grasses like New Zealand wind grass (Anemanthele lessoniana, zones 8 to 10) or ‘Blonde Ambition’ blue grama grass (Bouteloua gracilis ‘Blonde Ambition’, zones 3 to 10) for your window box garden.
Browse more ornamental grasses on Houzz
Mums and edible greens. In this second window box by KMS Gardens and Design, Simpson included a surprise element in the planting mix: edible rainbow chard. The leaves add bold, colorful foliage above a row of yellow and bronze bedding mums, mauve coral bells and trailing variegated ivy. Cut branches with red bittersweet berries add an element of wildness to the vignette.
Plant list:
Plant list:
- ‘Bright Lights’ Rainbow chard
- Chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum sp.)
- Coral bells (Heuchera sp.)
- Golden sweet flag (Acorus gramineus ‘Ogon’, zones 5 to 9)
- Variegated ivy
Winter
Berries and conifers. Dress up empty, end-of-season window boxes by filling them with cut boughs of pine, fire or cedar and sprays of berries for color. Here, the addition of a metal hoop wrapped with white lights makes the display even more festive.
Plant list:
Berries and conifers. Dress up empty, end-of-season window boxes by filling them with cut boughs of pine, fire or cedar and sprays of berries for color. Here, the addition of a metal hoop wrapped with white lights makes the display even more festive.
Plant list:
- All cut foliage and berries
Elegant evergreens. Boxwoods shaped into neat cones paired with Japanese skimmia make for an easy-care window box planting that looks good year-round.
Japanese skimmia has glossy green leaves, cone-shaped clusters of pinkish-white flowers in early spring and decorative red berries in winter.
Dwarf hybrids of Japanese skimmia (best for window boxes) are self-fertile and all form berries. Standard-sized Japanese skimmia come as separate male or female plants that must be planted together for female plants to set berries.
Plant list:
Caution: The leaves and berries of Japanese skimmia are toxic if ingested.
Japanese skimmia has glossy green leaves, cone-shaped clusters of pinkish-white flowers in early spring and decorative red berries in winter.
Dwarf hybrids of Japanese skimmia (best for window boxes) are self-fertile and all form berries. Standard-sized Japanese skimmia come as separate male or female plants that must be planted together for female plants to set berries.
Plant list:
- Boxwood (Buxus sp.)
- Japanese skimmia (Skimmia japonica, zones 7 to 9)
Caution: The leaves and berries of Japanese skimmia are toxic if ingested.
White and gold. A combination of variegated ivy, white cyclamen and jewel-like golden ornamental peppers makes for a fresh winter look. Ornamental peppers could be traded for potted kumquats; in cold-winter regions try dwarf holly or sprays of cut branches and berries.
Plant list:
Plant list:
- Florists’ cyclamen (Cyclamen persicum, zones 9 to 11)
- Ornamental peppers (Capsicum annuum)
- Pansies (Viola sp.)
- Variegated ivy
A home by Homeconcepts in London’s Notting Hill neighborhood is decked out in summer flowers.
Tell us: Do you have a window box garden? Show us in the Comments and share your favorite plant combinations.
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How to Plant a Beautiful, Thriving Window Box Garden
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Tell us: Do you have a window box garden? Show us in the Comments and share your favorite plant combinations.
More on Houzz
How to Plant a Beautiful, Thriving Window Box Garden
Find a landscape designer near you
Shop for gardening products
Four-Season Planting Strategy
You don’t need to entirely replant your window box every season (although, of course, you can) to have a welcoming garden display. This is our planting strategy in short: Anchor the arrangement with evergreens and fill in the front with seasonal color.
This window box in Massachusetts serves as an example. Each box has a trio of boxwoods planted at the back, which could stand on their own in winter or pair with a few cut conifer branches or sprays of berries for color. In spring, trade the branches for pansies and violas. Come summer, swap the cool-season annuals for masses of petunias and geraniums or light pink and white gaura for height (all shown here) or shade-loving begonias, fuchsia and impatiens. By fall, keep any perennials that are still looking good and add a few decorative gourds to cover the bare spots of annuals removed. Voila!
If this still sounds like too much effort, choose a combination of evergreens in the back with variegated ivy trailing down the front. Window boxes using that approach will look good year-round, even if you don’t add anything else. Plus, you can sink potted annuals like ornamental peppers or geraniums, still in their nursery pots, into the ivy for colorful accents — no replanting required.
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