Spring Has Sprung: Windowboxes and Container Gardens
Now that it is spring, I have gardening on the brain. For some, the only bit of potential garden space on the property is a naked window ledge. No fear; when I lived in Venice Italy, we maximized that space by using it to provide all the basil we could eat - just a simple pot stuck out on the ledge, hemmed in by a red geranium plant on either side.
A plain Jane boring house can be transformed into a remarkable charmer with the simple addition of window boxes or container gardens. Clearly I am obsessed with them, because when I sort through my pictures, I find I've taken pictures of them everywhere from Maine to California and from Alabama to Prague! Try to picture these exteriors without the plants and realized how much curb appeal they add.
A plain Jane boring house can be transformed into a remarkable charmer with the simple addition of window boxes or container gardens. Clearly I am obsessed with them, because when I sort through my pictures, I find I've taken pictures of them everywhere from Maine to California and from Alabama to Prague! Try to picture these exteriors without the plants and realized how much curb appeal they add.
St. Augustine, Florida. The view from my room. Marble top tables, red and white cafe chairs, and geraniums. Does it get any cuter than this?
Stockbridge Bowl, The Berkshires, Massachusetts. This is actually my aunt's house. She had the builder actually build windowboxes into the deck railings, which is genius. She always comes up with very interesting plant compositions in them.
Port Clyde, Maine. I love this simple house turned gallery. That top windowbox just makes the place!
Charlottesville, Virginia. This is my friend Suzannah's ( http://osuzannahnews.blogspot.com/) adorable potting shed out in the country. She's also got an airstream trailer and a studio on the same property as her log cabin.
Birmingham Alabama. I'm not sure what makes this place - the awning, the old sign, the homemade sign, or the windowboxes. It all just works!
Birmingham Alabama. Clearly I'm realizing I'm obsessed with funky storefronts. Purple trim + Excellent Container Garden = Becky whips out camera phone!
Paris (Monmarte? I can't QUITE remember!) France. Thi is just one of the most charming exteriors I've ever seen, and the hanging plants certainly help make it so!
Monmarte, Paris, France. How do Europeans manage to make geraniums looks so much more elegant than we Americans do?
This is my favorite restaurant in Atlanta, Parish. The green and white spilling out from their windowboxes make the converted mill even more inviting from the outside.
Prague, Czech Republic. For this apartment dweller, this is his only garden at home. Remember you can plant useful herbs on a window ledge; when I lived in Venice we harvested our basil from a windowbox!
Savannah GA: This is just so charming, from the bright flowers, to the curtain to the pink trim!
Paris France. Simple. Evergreen. Beautiful!
Prague, Czech Republic. This windowbox has such interesting colors and textures that it is unexpected.
Atlanta (Chamblee) Georgia. Every time I drive by this landscape designer's office (a former service station), I drool with envy!
Rockport, Maine. You may know this place as the farm with the Belted Galloway cows. I just love the building and am trying to sneak it in under a windowbox theme! They have an art sale there once a year, and the beadboard-filled interior is just as charming as the exterior.
Branford, Connecticut. Do I even need words here? The colorful windowboxes absolutely make this exterior; it's curb appeal to the tenth degree!
Branford, Connecticut. Whoever tends to these boxes does so with a lot of love. They absolutely make the place. Oh, and the shutters with the cut outs dont hurt it any either!
Branford Connecticut. This is my cousin's next-door-neighbor's house. I love that in addition to purple and green trim and the boxes, she hangs her paintings on the OUTSIDE of the house. She switches them out all the time. Did I mention that Branford is a really funky ocean town outside of New Haven? It's a blast to explore!
L.A. California. This is The Standard Hotel on Sunset Strip. I like the groovy composition of these weird plants.
Venice Beach, California. This little garden on a busy street totally charmed me. Most of the flowers are in pots. It's just part of the Venice Beach funk; the chain link doesn't even bother me. Perhaps that's because of Frank Gehry's crazy house nearby!
Venice Beach, California. What could be a depressing concrete entryway is full of charm thanks to potted plants galore.
Savannah, Georgia. I just like the food here so much I had to include their fun sidewalk flower box. Back in the Day Bakery - YUM!
Decatur, Georgia. This is next to the funky Victory Vintage wall, painted by Ward-o-Matic, I'll find my image in a bit. Anyway, this could be such a boring, depressing, prison-like back window, but instead, it's yellow and totally happy! Love it!
I'm jealous...
Atlanta, Georgia. These containers are cheap y'all! Go to the paint section of a Home Depot. They come in lots of sizes.
Atlanta, Georgia. Simplicity on a rooftop deck. Keep in mind that there are always weight constraints when you are roof gardening!
Spruce Head Island, Maine. So these are the plants I bought for my windowbox project, but I can't seem to find the "after" shot. Mom, if you are reading, do you have one?