Bountiful Flower Boxes September 13, 2011

Filed under: Gardening — ifiwasdomestic @ 6:30 am
Tags: Flowers, Gardening, Shade Plants, Window Boxes, Window Boxes in Shade

I know what you’re thinking…it’s a little late now! Yes I know, those of us with a yard to maintain are already on to thinking about planting some mums and dropping a few bulbs in the ground, however, now is a great time to make notes in your gardening notebooks for next year.

What worked, what didn’t? My “journal” typically invovles a plastic plant container full of the tags of the flowers I bought the year before.

Ok on to business, a wise garden expert once told me you need three things in your flower boxes:

Thrillers, Trailers & Fillers

It may sound simple, and it is, but it works.

We have four window boxes in back and one in the front. The ones in the back get zero direct sunlight so it’s taken me all three summers that we’ve lived here to find just the perfect combo of flowers. Here are a few of my shady faves:

Thrillers:

Persian Shield Strobilanthes (seem to work anywhere!)

…and I regret that I can’t find the tag for my favorite thriller. You’ll see them sticking up in the photos below, it seems to be a type of Coleus, but even our greenhouse didn’t know them by name.