If you want to improve your curb entreatment with blossom boxes (or merely desire to look out your window at some pretty plants), these Charleston window boxes are sure to be an inspiration. Acquire how to use their blueprint ideas and plant recipes to create gorgeous window box flower combinations for your own home.

Plant combinations for window boxes

Adding window boxes to the front of your home is one of the quickest and easiest ways to improve the curb appeal of your home.

Non to mention giving you lot something pretty to await at through the window from inside the business firm as well.

They add a pop of color that can last all summer long if you lot use the correct plants.

And they give you a chance to be creative past trying out new and interesting flower box arrangements every year.

But that's where a lot of united states of america (myself included) encounter a problem.

How do you design window flower boxes so that they look adept?

I decided to get some inspiration from one of the cities that has mastered the art of beautiful window boxes: Charleston, South Carolina.

If yous haven't been there, the whole downtown expanse looks like information technology stepped out of a picture show book with beautiful old houses, well-kept gardens behind wrought fe gates, and real gas-lit lanterns.

And almost every dwelling has drop dead gorgeous window boxes. Even in the eye of the summertime!

So what better place to learn how to create beautiful window box flower combinations?

one | Use Thrillers, Spillers and Fillers

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When it comes correct downward to it, a lot of these window flower box ideas are using the same Thriller, Spiller and Filler planting formula that I usually apply for my containers.

The "Thrillers, Spillers and Fillers" formula is a mutual way of creating balance in planters of all kinds.

And the Charleston window boxes were definitely using it to their advantage.

Here's the bones steps of using this formula to put together your window box.

Utilize Thrillers To Create Top

Window boxes with evergreens, ivy and impatiens

To get-go your window box, use large plants to ballast the center of the container and provide a focal point.

Using evergreens is a bully way to do this since their needles also provide a contrast in texture with the other constitute leaves. And if you alive in a moderate climate, they will likely survive through the winter.

Some variegated ivy and vivid pink impatiens terminate the rest of these actually simple window boxes that will flourish in the shade.

Charleston Window Box Plant Combination #1 – Thrillers, Spillers, and Fillers

All-time In: Shade

Thrillers: Dwarf evergreen (eg. 'Dark-green Mountain' boxwood or 'Emerald' arborvitae)

Spillers: Variegated ivy, fuchsia impatiens

Plant Spillers To Add Depth

Million bells in a window box

Planting cascading flowers or greenery that flows over the edge of the window box makes them look much bigger and more dramatic.

These Million Bells Calibrachoa are one of the best cascading flowers for window boxes in the lord's day.

They are available in pretty much any color you want, and really put on a bear witness!

Just make sure to keep them well watered. They will wilt actually fast if they get stale out.

Flower Box Establish Combination #2 – Thrillers, Spillers, and Fillers

Best In: Dominicus

Thriller: Dracaena

Spiller: Million Bells Calibrachoa

Filler:

Fill In The Gaps With Fillers

Window box plant combinations

So far, you've seen the Thriller (focal point) and the Spiller (cascading plants), now it'southward on to the fillers.

As the proper name implies, these are the plants that make full out the balance of the box.

They are usually medium-sized plants that add together texture or color to the other plants in the container.

Window box with lots of flowers

I love this whole arrangement so much I had to zoom in closer so you lot could see all the details.

Window Box Blossom Combinations #3 – Thrillers, Spillers, and Fillers

Best In: Sun

Thriller: Coleus

Spillers: Evolvulus, Scaevola, Licorice plant

Fillers: Mandevilla, Angelonia

two | More Is More

Charleston window boxes

The beginning thing I noticed that was common beyond all of the Charleston window boxes I saw…they use lots of plants!

Every window box was packed full, and that'due south what gives them their total and lush appearance.

Window Box Plant Arrangement #iv – Lots Of Plants

Best In: Sun to Part Sun

Thrillers: Dwarf evergreen (eg. 'Green Mountain' boxwood or 'Emerald' arborvitae), Caladiums

Fillers: Angelonia, SunPatiens

Spillers: Ivy

Window boxes on a Charleston building

I recollect all that foliage too helps to prevent the soil from drying out equally quickly (but more on that beneath).

Charleston Blossom Box Recipe #5 – Lots Of Plants

All-time In: Part Shade

Thrillers: Caladiums, Coleus

Fillers: Heuchera, Penstemon

Spillers: Creeping Jenny, Million Bells Calibrachoa

3 | Use Layers Of Color

White, Green and Purple

Caladium, Salvia, Persian Shield and Dichondra in a Charleston window box

If you're having trouble figuring out how to blueprint your window box, using layers of color is an easy and constructive way to go.

I but honey this window box using layers of white, green and purple.

This box starts with white and green Caladium as the focal point, and then a layer of regal and light-green Salvia as the filler, and then a layer of Purple Middle. Finally, a dracaena fasten adds some peak to the dorsum of the blossom box arrangement while the silver Dichondra trails repeats the white all the way to the ground.

Window Box Flower Organisation #half dozen – Layers Of Color

All-time In: Lord's day

Thrillers: Dracaena and Caladium

Spillers: Persian Shield and Dichondra

Fillers: Salvia

Red, Silver and Green

Flower box arrangement with red impatiens, dusty miller, sweet potato vine, creeping jenny and ivy

This ane has a layer of green across the bottom and then alternates silver and red across the top.

Window Box Planter #7 – Layers Of Color

All-time In: Lord's day

Thriller: Ruddy New Guinea Impatiens

Spillers: Murphy Vine, Ivy and Creeping Jenny

Fillers: Dusty Miller

4 | Repetition Is Central

Summer window boxes

Window blossom boxes actually brand a statement when they are repeated multiple times.

For a more formal look, indistinguishable the planting pattern exactly beyond all of the boxes.

Purple and green plants in window boxes on a Charleston home

For a more than casual wait, apply the same plants in each of the boxes simply non in the exact same spots.

(The plants included in these two flower box arrangements are listed to a higher place)

v | Plant Greenery Under The Boxes

Repeat The Plants From The Window Box

Geraniums, Angeliona and vinca in a Charleston window box

If you don't take a lot of windows, another flower box thought is to repeat the flowers and plants from the boxes on the ground underneath them. Which makes information technology look similar one big floral display.

This little garden doesn't take up much space simply you lot certainly can't miss information technology when yous're walking by.

Window Box Flower Combination #8 – Plants Under The Window Box

Best In: Sun

Thrillers: Geraniums, Angelonia

Spillers: Scaevola, Vinca

Fillers: Pentas

Below The Planter: Boxwood and Coleus, Geraniums, Angelonia, Vinca

Add A Mini Boxwood Hedge

Window boxes in shade on the Battery in Charleston

If you have enough less space, calculation a miniature boxwood hedge nether the window boxes is some other mode to go.

Caladium and Coleus have multi-colored leaves that make them beautiful statement plants in a container.

These boxes are also using Lobelia which is a great trailing constitute with beautiful blueish flowers.

Charleston Window Box Plant Combination #9 – Plants Nether The Window Box

Best In: Part Shade

Thriller: Calladium

Spiller: Abaft Lobelia, Mandevilla

Filler: Coleus

6 | Match The House Colour

Pink house with artificial window box flowers in Charleston

If you desire a no-fail solution to picking flowers for your window box, y'all tin can e'er lucifer your house color.

I think those are faux flowers in the window box of this pink business firm, but they certainly look pretty.

White and black house in Charleston with white flowers in window box

Similarly, using white flowers confronting a white business firm is always a archetype color combination which looks stunning with the blackness trim on this firm.

Having the planter box finished in the same color as the shutters and the door also helps to create a cohesive look.

7 | Window Box Ideas For Shade

Window box ideas for shade

The streets in downtown Charleston are narrow, the lots are small, and the houses are tall.

All that to say, they accept quite a chip of shade. Merely that doesn't cease them from having beautiful flower boxes!

You may have noticed that there are actually quite a few window boxes for shade in this listing…and here'south a few more…

Blue and White Hydrangeas

Blue and white hydrangeas in a window box for shade

Since I love blue and white as a color combination, it's no surprise that I absolutely love this planter. (It fits right in with these blueish and white garden pattern ideas I constitute a little while agone).

The dandy affair about growing plants in containers is that the limited root infinite keeps them from growing also large.

Which is why planting small bushes similar Hydrangeas in a window box is totally fine.

Flower Box Plant Combination #10 – Window Boxes For Shade

Best In: Shade

Thrillers: Blue and white Hydrangeas

Spillers: Creeping Jenny, White and blue Bacopa

Fillers: Maidenhair Ferns

Go Variegated

Plants with variegated leaves in a window box for shade

Variegated plants are a staple of shade garden design considering the white adds some effulgence to a darker area of the chiliad.

Which is what makes this window box stand out.

All of the leaves are variegated green and white, with just a couple of pansies added for a picayune popular of colour.

When spring is coming to an finish and the pansies are past their prime, tt will be easy to swap them out for a summertime-blooming cascading annual like Bacopa or Browallia.

Window Box Blossom Combination #xv – Window Boxes For Shade

Best In: Shade

Thrillers: Variegated Dracaena

Spillers: Ivy, Pansies

Fillers: 'Everest' Sedge grass

All Begonias

Begonias in window box for shade

For a really like shooting fish in a barrel window box, try using unlike varieties of the aforementioned shade plant.

This box is full of Begonias.

But yous can use whatever shade plant yous like.

8 | Window Boxes For Full Lord's day

When you're putting together a window box for full sun, be certain to select plants that can survive in hot and dry conditions. Peculiarly if you live in an expanse that has actually warm summers.

Considering window boxes aren't very deep (and at that place are a lot of plants jammed into that space), they dry out much quicker and heat up a lot more than larger containers do.

So if you want your flower boxes to await good all summer, the plants you select will need to thrive in those conditions.

Which is why a lot of people choose geraniums for their full lord's day window boxes. They definitely fit that bill.

But then aren't sure how many geraniums should go in each box or what other flowers to plant with them.

2 Geraniums Per Window Box

Geraniums, Salvia, Plumbago, New Guinea Impatiens and Alyssum in a window box in full sun

This first full dominicus window box has two geraniums in information technology. I on either side of a taller Salvia.

The spiky shape of the Salvia contrasts with the rounded shape of the Geraniums to requite the box a symmetrical experience.

The rest of the window box is filled in with other sun-hardy plants, similar Plumbago, New Guinea Impatiens and Alyssum.

Window Box Plant Arrangement #12 – Window Boxes for Full Dominicus

Best In: Total Sun

Thriller: Salvia

Spillers: Alyssum, Ivy

Fillers: Geraniums, Plumbago, New Guinea Impatiens

One Geranium In A Window Box

Geraniums, Angeliona and Vinca in a window box in full sun

This window box bloom combination basically reverses the blueprint of the last one.

It uses ane large Geranium in the middle, and then flanks it on either side with spiky flowers. In this case, white and purple Angelonia.

Which achieves the same effect of adding contrast and interest to more rounded Geranium plant.

You tin find the full plant list in plant combination #ix to a higher place.

Sun Window Box Without Geraniums

Verbena, Snap dragons, foxtail fern, pansies and phlox in a window box in the sun

Of course, if y'all're not a fan of Geraniums, there are lots of other flower options for total dominicus window boxes.

This beautiful window box is meant for bound, since the pansies will peter out when it gets too hot.

But with the mode they are positioned, the verbena should abound into the gaps, making information technology an easy transition into a summertime flower box when the time comes.

Charleston Window Box Plant Combination #xiii – Window Boxes for Full Sun

All-time In: Dominicus

Thriller: Fob Tail Fern

Spillers: Pansies, Verbena

Fillers: Snap dragons, Phlox

ix | Perennial Window Box Ideas

If you lot don't want to replant your window box every year, consider filling it with mostly perennials.

Make full In Spaces With Annuals

Boxwood, creeping jenny and other perennials in a window box in Charleston

Nigh perennials don't have as long of a flower flavor as annuals.

So if you lot want season-long bloom, create the backbone of your planter with perennials. Then fill in the gaps with annuals.

Brand sure to select perennials that are not finicky in your gardening zone. Window boxes are ordinarily colder in the winter and warmer in the summer than other planting mediums. And then the plants need to be tough to survive.

It's besides a great idea to include some evergreen plants (like the boxwoods and creeping jenny in the picture to a higher place) so you lot take yr-circular interest.

Flower Box Plant Combination #xiv – Perennial Window Boxes

Best In: Sun

Thrillers: Boxwood, Asparagus Fern

Spillers: Pansies, Alyssum

Fillers: Snap dragons, Phlox (perennial), Poppies (perennial)

Add Foliage Interest

Heuchera, boxwood, sedge grass, ivy and Cyclamen in a perennial window box

If y'all don't want to worry about planting annuals in your perennial bloom box, add together interest with the foliage instead.

In this window box, a yellow-leaved variety of Heuchera adds contrast to the dark green leaves of the Boxwood and Cyclamen.

And the Sedge grass creates even more than interest past adding a difference in leaf texture.

When the Cyclamen is in bloom, it'south an boosted popular of color to the window box. Only the found combination shines in the shade even without the blooms.

Flower Box Plant Combination #15 – Perennial Window Boxes

Best In: Shade

Thrillers: Boxwood

Spillers: Ivy

Fillers: Heuchera, Sedge grass, Cyclamen

10 | H2o The Flower Boxes Automatically

Okay, so this isn't really a window box design idea, simply I think it's kind of an important step for having cute window boxes all summertime long.

And I noticed that most of the Charleston houses do this.

Automated watering system for window boxes

Automatic Container and Hanging Baskets Watering Kit*

They employ an automated container watering organization like this one*.

If you look closely at the pictures, you lot'll see a lot of them take tubes running down the wall. I think that explains how all of their window boxes however look so good in the eye of a hot South Carolina summer!

I set this upwardly for my planters (find out how HERE) and I love it! No more than crossing my fingers that it rained enough to go along them alive while I'm away 🙂

Well, that'southward information technology for my window flower box inspiration. Now I'g off to see what I did with those sometime hay racks I used to have…mayhap I tin can add together a trivial scrap of Charleston to my house…

Other Container Planting Ideas You Might Like

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Do you accept comments or questions about how to design window box establish combinations (inspired by Charleston window boxes)? Tell us in the department below.