7 ways to spice up your planters with $260 composite PVC window box giveaway from Good Directions!

I always start my window boxes in spring pansies and a few violas. Those Johnny Jump Ups drape over the edges.

Both pansies and violets have cute little pansy faces. Yes?! They become the very bones of the box.

They add character, depth and dimension and no box or pot is complete without them. Each plant boasts numerous blooms which adds to the fullness and texture.

When the heat up the summer arrives and the pansies die back, I start adding a plethora of annuals until they bounce back in fall.

Consider all color combinations for a dramatic effect. My favorite color combination has always been pink, yellow and purple.

I also find red, white and blue give off a fun, patriotic vibe all summer long!

2.) Balance color with whites and greens

With all this bold color, ensure there is enough balance of white to set off that color.

Potting a few white and greens like your “white Nancy” lamium, alyssum, and potato vine are going to make everything else in the pot absolutely pop.

You need a backdrop for all the color to be seen and be distinguished.

Worried about what happens to your window box when winter comes? Me too. Because the Good Directions box can be left outside, no worries. But an empty box is a sad box!

There’s no rule that only flowers and plants can be displayed in a window box. When winter rears its ugly head, tiny evergreen Christmas trees or evergreen branches arranged with plastic Christmas bulbs is a truly magnificent display.

For Easter, how about laying some colored plastic eggs in your box for fun? You don’t always have to display only plants in a window box. You can incorporate non-living items for beauty and year-round enjoyment!

4.) Stuff it

There’s no going back after you’ve tried double stuffed Oreo cookies, is there? It’s the same concept with a window box or pot.

I like full and vibrant pots loaded in plants. Sparse and empty pots come off as desperate and pathetic. Fullness means you’re probably incorporating lots of texture, color and interest.

Why wait all summer for the pot to finally fill out? Enjoy it now. Stuff it with plants. A great way to add a sense of fullness is to incorporate plants jammed-packed with color. Think about including….

• calibrachoa (million bells) These resemble a miniature petunia and always look just right. 
• double impatients
• gazania
• geraniums
• New Guinea impatients
• wave petunias

Groupings of plants in 1, 3, 5, and 7 look better than even ones of 2, 4 or 6.

Somehow, two of each type of flower or plant just doesn’t satisfy and comes off looking awkward and weird.

Even numbers of plants never look right. Odd groupings always give off that artistic and flexible flair.  Space them out though and remember that even in odd groupings, repetition is key.

6.) Dangling plants look attractive, artistic, lacy and feminine 

Don’t you appreciate a good window box with lots of plants dangling over the side? Traditionally, the potato vine looks nice and the green adds a bit of contrast.

But the potato vine can get a little greedy for space and take over.

In the front of the box, you must have lobelia for that popping blue and alyssum for texture (looks like lace). White alyssum is always a welcome backdrop against all the color. 

Other suggestions for draping……

• bidens (yellow ones please!) 
• bacopa
• diascia
• ivy
• “white Nancy” lamium 
• nemesia
• vinca vine
• nasturtium

Just like you’re taking your family photograph…tall people in the back…short people (me) closer to the front.

Or…the short people won’t even be seen and why bother including them at all? This means those lovely snapdragons which we all love will head to the back of the window box.

See and be seen is your planting motto. Lobelia and alyssum draping towards the front. Pansies and marigolds in the middle. You get the drift.

Make sure you do include some tall plants as they draw the eye upward and outward.

The ones that need to be in the back of the pack as they do get tall?

• dahlia
• dianthus
• gerbera daisies
• heliotrope
• marguerite daisies
• salvia
• snapdragons
• stock
• zinnias

• Comes assembled with 2 decorative mounting brackets (Easy Installation)
  
• Handcrafted from solid cellular vinyl PVC, comes in white finish, paintable
  
• Detailed carpentry includes secure joints and drainage holes (Allows water to escape, No Flooding, Healthy Plants)
  
• Available in five sizes from 36″ to 72″ to fit any window
• Proudly made in the USA.

And I must say….Tom had this window box up and ready for planting in roughly 10 minutes. So assembly is a breeze.