Thursday, August 14, 2008

Inexpensive Window Boxes



I finally got my window boxes. We've lived here for 5 years and I have always wanted window boxes on the front of the house. I love looking at houses with beautiful over flowing window boxes. My husband was worried about damage that the water might cause to the house. I came up with an idea that puts the boxes far enough away from the house that their should not be any damage.


I got all the material from the Mill Store. The unfinished boxes with plastic liners were only $14 a piece. Most window boxes I looked at were $75 and up. The brackets were $5.00 a piece. This was a very inexpensive project that added a lot of character to the house.I originally wanted to buy antique brackets but I couldn't find enough that matched. I needed 8 brackets. I have four windows.


First thing I did to prepare the boxes was:


  1. Drilled about 30 holes in the bottom of each box

  2. Sand the boxes before painting

  3. Primed the boxes

  4. Used exterior paint ( I used 2 coats of left over paint from the house trim)

  5. Re drill the holes (paint can clog the them)

  6. I cut huge holes in the plastic liners so they would drain easily

  7. Placed one layer of newspaper on the bottom of the liner.

  8. Fill with potting soil and compost.

  9. Fill with plants. ( Choose filler flowers( I used pink Becopia) Usually small buds, trailing flowers & vines( Vinca or Potato Leaf as an example) and then a main flower ( I used ruffled Petunia)

I placed the brackets on the house with the long side faced up. The window boxes sit right up to the end of the bracket. ( I wanted a 2 to 3 inch gap between the house and the window box. )Once the flowers fill in you really don't notice the gap. The window boxes were drilled to the bracket from underneath.


Notice the Whimsical bug. This was from the Kith & Kin Studios a few years back. My sister-n-law designed the wings and I designed and painted the body. We had them in all kinds of playful colors. Someday I'll post the Fat Fairies we made. They are adorable.
You can really change the look of your house with this project. Next month I'm going to replace the summer flowers with Mums and Decorative Cabbage, and this winter I will have Holly berry, mixture of greens and red berries.







Have fun with them.

































No comments: