Tips for placement of flower boxes

If you're using your box as flower box planter instead, you can place them on fences, decks, railings or balconies -- anywhere you want to create miniature pocket gardens to add color, fragrance and texture to your home.  For more placement ideas, visit our Photo Galleries page and see how other customers have used our product.

Wherever you decide to place your flower boxes, choosing the correct hanging hardware is essential.  We have specially designed hardware that's been custom made to fit only our boxes.  View the hardware section of our Web site to determine which hanging hardware will work best for your project!
 

Painting your flower boxes

Choosing the correct size & style flower boxes

1.  Window boxes look better and more balanced when they're a little wider than the actual window itself.  You can purchase a box the exact width of the window and it will still look fine.  But if you have shutters, measure from the left mid-shutter to the right mid-shutter (or at least 3" inches past the window on each side) for the best look.  Our boxes come in lengths from 2-15 feet and we can custom cut any size.  Visit the Lots of Window Boxes section of our Web site to see actual photos of these applications.

2.  The style of a window box should match the architectural integrity of your home.  With the idea of many different style homes in mind, our window box design will enhance the look of almost any home. Flower Framers™ window boxes are designed with a classic style. 

Planting tips for flower boxes

Here's a simple diagram for flowerboxes that can be used effectively with the right size and shape of plants mixed together.  Notice the plants are set in a zigzag type pattern which will grow into a bountiful, lush look:

Go for a layered design like the diagram above: use the tallest plants in the back, with the shorter and bushy plants along the middle rows. The front of the flower box should be planted with trailers to give your box that overflowing effect that is quite gorgeous.  

Keep in mind the weather patterns where you garden as well.  If the area your box is placed is prone to wind, it’s best to avoid long trailing plants (such as ivies) because they'll be lashed around and damaged.  In this case, go for sturdy, bushy plants or moderate trailers.

Don't be afraid to have some fun with your designs.  If something doesn't look right or work, pull it out and try something different -- now or next season.  Here at Flower Framers, we love the bountiful, lush flowerboxes look and guide all of our customers to use this style because it's our favorite.  It always makes your home stand out and gets the most compliments.  Plus, we've made it easy for you to do.  Simply go to the Garden Recipes section of our site and give one of our tried and true planting designs a try. 

5 Steps to Beautiful Flowerboxes
by Shauna Lindsey, Staff Horticulturist at Flower Framers

Step 1.  Determine how much sun your window garden will receive:
Full Sun = 8 to 12 hours sunlight
Part Sun = 4 to 8 hours sunlight
Shade = 2 to 4 hours sunlight

Step 2.  Fill the box with a good container mix.
“Soil-less media” is best because it’s lightweight and most likely to be insect and disease free.  “Soil-less” mixes are not plain top soil or standard potting soils.  Better yet, they feature a unique mixture of peat moss, pearlite and vermiculite, plus sometimes bark or cocoa fibers, providing ideal growing conditions for container gardening. 

Miracle Gro® or Scotts® make special container mixes and are available at most retail garden centers.  We like Sunshine® Container Potting Mix by Sun Gro (www.sungro.com) or Premier’s ProMix® for containers (www.premierhort.com).  They provide the correct balance of soil components plus water-holding polymers to help absorb water.  For soil mixes without water-holding polymers, you can add them yourself with Soil Moist® Granules (www.soilmoist.com).  These products are all available at fine retail garden centers or growers, in gardening catalogs and online at gardening supply sites. 

With your drainage mat included in your flowerboxes, there’s no need to add gravel or drainage material to the bottom.  Simply add your soil mixture directly on top of the mat.

Step 3.  Choose your fertilizer.
Choose either a slow-release or water soluble one.  A slow release type, such as Osmocote® (www.osmocote.com), is incorporated into the media prior to planting and lasts 3-4 months.  Water-soluble fertilizer is added on a weekly or bi-weekly basis according to the manufacturers directions.  We recommend MiracleGro® or Peters® plant food.

Step 4.  Choose a recipe for your light condition.
You can use one of our favorites on this insert or create your own.  Be sure to plan out your selections in the window boxes before you start planting to make sure everything will fit.

Step 5.  Time to Plant!
It’s best to use plants from cell packs and 4” containers.  Start in the center of the box and work your way out.  Make your hole slightly larger than the plant roots.  Carefully remove the plant from its container and loosen the roots.  If the plant is dry, moisten the roots first to remove from the container.  Place plant in the hole and fill with soil.  Gently press down.  Continue planting out from the center.  When finished, level out the soil, water the box thoroughly – and enjoy!  For an added bonus, sprinkle some seeds in for later blooms.

Maintenance
During hot summer months, water thoroughly and often!  Regular watering, of your box is essential to achieve the results and look you want, especially if the flower boxes are in full sun.  We recommend applying 4 1/2 ounces of water per flowerbox foot, twice a day. (Based on our micro-drip irrigation system ) 

For optimum ease and efficiency, use our drip irrigation system for automatic watering so you’ll never need to hand water again!   If you’re not using drip irrigation, we recommend adding the water-holding crystals to the soil mix as described in Step 2.

Nourish your plants every two weeks with a water-soluble fertilizer as a basic feeding program.  Follow manufacturer’s directions for the specific product you select.

Keep your flowerboxes happy and beautiful by removing spent blooms. Decaying flowers and leaves left on nearby soil may encourage bacteria growth.