11 Nov Window Boxes

It’s always a shame that just when the window boxes have reached their peak of fullness and color; autumn sneaks in. Frost nips at the foliage and flowers signaling it’s time to clean them out. Or is it? This season, try extending the life of your window boxes, so you can appreciate their beauty year-round.

End of Summer

To spruce up your window boxes start by removing what looks old and tired: the geraniums are beginning to yellow, the verbena is past it’s prime, and the dianthus isn’t flowering anymore. But the ageratum seems to be perking up now that the heat of summer has passed. And the ivy and vinca are holding their own. You can fill in the gaps with cool season flowers such as mums or pansies  You’ll probably be able to get another 3 to 4 weeks of flowering out of those boxes.

Tangerine Queen provenwinners.com

Autumn Beauty and Spring Prep

When freezing temperatures arrive, it’s time for flowering brassicas, such as kale and cabbage, with their colorful, curious foliage. Plant them directly into the boxes and they’ll last all winter. As you plant, tuck daffodil and tulip bulbs under the flowering kale to guarantee an early spring show. You can mix in cut sprigs of crabapple, viburnum, winterberry of any other shrub or tree with clusters of colorful berries and strong branches. Just stick the branches into the soil in the boxes. Your only problem will be the birds and wildlife competing for the berries! Tangled grapevine and bittersweet, with it orange seed coats and red berries quickly go from noxious weeds growing in the wild to precious commodities in autumn and winter window boxes.

Winter Touch Up

Evergreen branches from spruce, balsam and pine will retain their color throughout the winter months as long as the temperature is low. Stick their ends into the soil just before the soil freezes, arranging them en masse. For the holidays, string little white lights through the boughs and tie on weatherproof velvet bows. Discard the branches once the temperature begins to warm, but don’t worry, your window boxes won’t be bare for long. The tulip and daffodil bulbs your carefully tucked in for the winter will soon be coming to life, and the cycle begins anew. Click here for tips on designing a winter window box.