November in our garden - Winter window boxes

Our window boxes needed a new set of plants after the geraniums eventually finished flowering a few weeks ago. This year I decided to try again with cyclamen to see if they would survive in the window boxes in a different location. These little plants can be a bit temperamental and can have a tendency to die if they don't like the conditions.

I went to our local garden centre and selected bright red and white cyclamen to fill our three window boxes. I love these colours together for winter flowers, they feel really Christmassy. I planted two red cyclamen and one white cyclamen into each window box, and added a few pieces of variegated ivy to each window box to add an extra element to the arrangement.

Each morning I open the blinds in our lounge and see these window boxes, they make me smile from ear to ear. It's so lovely to have these flowers outside the front of our home welcoming people with a bright pops of colour. Over time I will add more potted plants and colour to our front garden but for this autumn and winter these window boxes are a perfect feature on our bay window.

Planting Alpines in Window Boxes

A few weeks ago I planted up a few new plants in my two window boxes. I wanted to get something low maintenance that will look well maintained.

I decided to buy six small alpine plants all different shapes and colours to add a bit of character and something a little different. I love the shapes of the leaves and the colours against the lead-look planters.

To plant up the window boxes I added some fresh soil in the containers before I planted the alpines, I added some slow release plant food and a few water retaining crystals. I spent time arranging the alpines to balance the colours and shapes. I planted them up and then gave them a good watering.

I'm looking forward to seeing these alpines grow gradually and seeing a few of them flower.

New window boxes

We are having a very wet summer in England at the moment. At the end of May in my post about container gardening I mentioned that I’d been lusting after some lead look window boxes. My window box dreams have come true! Mr C and I were given two gorgeous window boxes as a gift from his parents with some plants to get us started! I love the detail of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew crest on each!

I haven’t given much thought to how to plant flowers together so it was quite fun working out how to arrange the window box. I decided to put three geraniums in the middle at the back of the window box, with the white petunias in front of them. I planted the purple daisies at the edges of the arrangement to make the edges a little softer. What do you think? This one has a third geranium but no flowers out just yet!

Our window boxes have given life to the window sills at the front of our basement flat. We have awkward shaped window sills so I propped one of the window boxes up with some old household bricks so we could balance it carefully.  

I love waking up, opening our blinds and seeing the flowers so close. The window boxes add a pretty burst of colour and definitely brighten up the very grey and rainy days that we have had continuously for a month or so. 

I plan to plant up the window boxes each season with different flowers to improve my knowledge of different flowers and arranging plants in a small space. I hope to have flowers in the window boxes all year round if I can to keep our windows looking cheery!