Lauren Window Box

What to Plant

Our planters will keep your blooms in tip-top shape, even if your green thumb is hibernating. To decide which flowers and herbs to plant, simply ask yourself:

Do you like bright, vivid colors?
Choose flowers in constrasting shades. Try a 50/50 mix of red and yellow tulips. Or fill your planter with a 75/25 mix of bright flowers, paired with fewer white blooms. Try purple African violets, accented with white dendrobium orchids. The white flowers will offset the bright violet hues, making them seem even more vibrant.

Do you like to cook with fresh herbs?
It's easy to grow fresh herbs for homemade dishes. Beginners can start with pungent herbs — try rosemary or sage — or spices that pair well with almost any dish — including chives, parsley and summer savory. Other common herbs are basil, dill, rosemary, mint and thyme.

Here's an easy pasta sauce recipe:

Ingredients
3 sprigs oregano
2 garlic cloves, minced
Bunch of fresh parsley
1 small red pepper
1/2 cup olive oil
Canned tomatoes
1/2 cup fresh Parmesan cheese, grated

In saucepan, heat oil & garlic. Add tomatoes and cook on medium heat for 10-15 minutes. Add red pepper and cook another 5 minutes. Reduce to simmer and add oregano and parsley. Cook 5-10 minutes. Serve over favorite pasta with fresh grated cheese.

Buy seed packets and a commercial soil mix at your local gardening store. Fill your planter with soil. Use your finger to dig out a small, shallow hole for each seed, plant the seed in your planter, then cover with soil. Important: Plant the seeds during springtime, preferably after the last frost of the year. Once herbs begin to sprout, simply cut off sprigs for use in your cooking.

Do you have a lot of sun?
If your patio faces south or west, you want to choose plants that will not wilt with a lot of sun exposure. Try geraniums, petunias, marigolds, vinca, ageratum, daisies, cosmos, dusty miller, blue lobelia or snapdragons.

Do you have a lot of shade?
If your patio faces north or east, you want to choose plants that prefer shady areas. Try impatiens, begonias, coleus, ferns, fuchsias or browallia.

Do you want blooms in the spring?
Try planting daffodils, crocuses, moss phlox or tulips.

Do you want blooms all during summer?
Begonias, dahlias, irises and lillies boast colorful flowers through June, July and August.

Do you want blooms in the fall?
Plant autumn crocuses, black-eyed susans, sunflowers and hardy mums for a shot of color in later months.

Do you want blooms year round?
Choose shrubs and ferns for all-weather color.

Do you prefer height over width?
Insert a trellis into your planter and plant "container climbers" such as mandevilla, clematis, moonflower or scarlet runner beans.