Summer in Full Bloom

Front Planter 2013 

I grew the geraniums!

Not the Billowing Window Box I Envisioned

When I think of window boxes I envision them with blooming flowers flowing down. That's not exactly how mines have turned out this Summer. Vinca is the only plant trailing down so far. I read that wave petunias cover a large area and only one plant was needed to cover a large amount of space. No, I'm not going back to quote a source. I expected petunias hanging over the side, sweet potato Marguerite spilling over by now, and the English ivy flowing. Maybe by the end of Summer. I have a box in the other window with three wave petunias and Geraniums. One of my favorite flowers are pansies so I added these in the Spring and planned to pull them and replace them with something else when the weather warmed up and they got too leggy. They are thriving so far into June. The wave petunias haven't taken off yet but are pretty. Next year I will attempt seeds from ivy geraniums. I have read that they spill over and hang down and cover the window box like European window boxes, we shall see. I tried to order live ivy geranium plants this Spring but they were sold out on the web sites I checked. There are still 3 months of Summer left and 2014 is not far away. I was excited to have them installed but I found that this is another gardening chore of many. It would be nice to have only flowers that don't need to be deadheaded. I will keep this in mind over the Winter when I'm planning what will go in them next Spring. I haven't had trouble with the plants drying out or water staining the stucco on the house. Before I added potting soil I lined the bottom of the box with landscaping fabric so this allows water to drain out and not soil.