Year-round window boxes and plants

[marlene4boycie]

Hello, I'm running a community project where we are supplying window boxes and hanging baskets. However, a lot of the people who are getting the baskets are either not very green fingered or are short on time, so I'm looking for plants which are easy to care for and also provide year-round greenery.

What would you suggest?

One side of the street is in the shade first thing and gets direct sun in the afternoons, and visa versa. It's also important to some people on the street that we get plants which are good for pollinators.

I was originally thinking of begonias, geraniums etc, but we may not get them flowering again next year, and we won't be able to afford to buy new plants for the baskets and plants if that happens - and I don't want the boxes to look scruffy and for people to get disheartened.

As you can tell - I'm very confused! Any help greatly appreciated :)

I'm not sure about plants but I'd say one of the biggest problems is remembering to water them. I need to water mine every other day (daily in summer) and they don't benefit from rain showers as they're sheltered by the house.

Can you incorporate water retaining crystals or mats or would the cost be too great?

I think I could get some mats - but would like plants which can withstand a little drought also!

I'm a bit clueless regarding perennial plants for baskets/ boxes. Googling 'RHS hanging baskets' lists a few examples but they're not terribly colourful. Maybe someone else can offer better advice

My neighbours and I tend to change our baskets twice a year - in the autumn planting small bulbs (crocus, miniature iris, narcissus) with winter pansies/ primula and trailing ivy/ tiny golden conifer on top.

Soon I'll swap the above for trailing summer annuals e.g. fuchsia/ petunia/ begonia/ impatiens/ lobelia which will see us through the next 5-6 months (SE).

I'm not sure how you can achieve year-round interest otherwise.

I have tried for permanent planting in my window boxes and hanging baskets and it is hard to keep them looking interesting all year round. However, I have found that vinca (periwinkle) looks good in a hanging basket because its foliage trails over the sides and it flowers for a long time. Ivy, pansies and violas are also good. Hardy fuchsias might also work.

I guess it might undermine the purpose of the project if you didn't, but is it really a good move to give these baskets to folks who don't have the time or inclination to look after them? Fingers crossed that this awakens their interest in gardening!

Ooh, just thought. Alpine strawberries are doing very well in a window box - good for pollinators and fruit at the end of it!

Also, how many households are you talking about? Could you make it an ongoing project whereby you collect, refill and reissue the baskets and containers once or twice a year?

Obviously this would require some coordination and funds. Could you get any local businesses/ garden centres to support you?

My local Homebase have a tendency to sell off whole trays of healthy annuals super cheaply around May/June when supply exceeds demand. I don't know if they (or another supplier) would get involved with a community initiative? Aldi are also good for trays of bedding plants.

I rarely refill my containers from scratch, I tend to scrape off the top third of compost and top up. Thus the ongoing cost would chiefly be plants. You could keep the trailing ivy all year round and replace the colourful element seasonally.

Just some ideas, sorry if they're not applicable

Yes, as you describe it as a community project I assume it's funded, but how long is it funded for?

Hi, we're hoping to get funding every year - and we've also got funding from a local supermarket. It's been a great way to get people together so far and we have a really supportive community association helping us. I'm hoping to get a balance between easy to care for plants, some summer colour, something that encourages biodiversity and something that lasts! Thanks so much for your advice so far - on the off chance considering these requirements which summer bloomers would you go for? Thinking now that it's likely we will have to plant up again in autumn. Thanks so much - I really am a novice here!

I am hanging around this thread with interest since we have window boxes. I have to say though that we have lived here five years and I have never once refilled them or watered them. They now look a mess and I am tacking them this weekend.

One is full of self seeded wild geraniums. They come back every year but are not big showy flowers.

The other which is still going string despite the complete and utter neglect is full of succulents. Im not sure of the variety but they seem to do well on rain and neglect.

I'm tempted by herbs but think they might need far more watering than I will ever remember to give them.

If it's just about summer colour, I would go for lobelia (Crystal Palace, which is purple/dark blue) and petunias or calibrachoa, because those are the things that I like. You could also look for bedding fuchsias, lantana, felicia, various daisies and heliotrope. The problem then is that they're not especially good for bees or biodiversity and you'll be locked into having to replant every season but, as I said, permanent planting can look a bit dull at the wrong time of year.

Sounds good! You could also invest in a compost bin for when you're replacing the plants that have gone over Free compost next year! See if your local council can help. Failing that try freegle/freecycle and local eBay.

Our local waste recycling advertise a day every spring when you can go and collect compost made from the area's green bin collections. Is there anything similar near you?

If you have the inclination, tiny geranium cuttings can be taken at the end of summer and overwintered to give you masses of new plants next spring. Good for window boxes? Could anyone volunteer you a bit of space in their greenhouse for such a project?

I would plant herbs as they last forever and hardy. Rosemary, thyme and mint survive most things and weather, and can be used in cooking also

From a Guardian article:

What plants would you recommend to put into haybasket-type troughs attached to a sunny front wall, to attract bees and other insects?Â
The usual suspects for such a spot would be annual bedding plants â?? pelargoniums, begonias and the like â?? but these plants present two problems to bees: they are seriously low in nectar and they tend to have complicated floral structures, which make it hard to reach their centres. What bees really love are simple, old-fashioned cottage flowers, rich in nectar, but unfortunately these aren't particularly suited to container growing. Instead, I think you should look to herbs, which will both provide for your kitchen and buzz with bees whenever they are allowed to go to flower. Lavender, thyme, marjoram and chives will all do well, and love the sunny, well-drained conditions. Plant mint in a pot of its own and sink it in the container, too (mint is invasive and will take over the whole caboodle otherwise), and get a prostrate rosemary to dangle over the edges. All these plants are perennials, so should look good for several years before you need to take the lot out and replant them in fresh compost.

Trailing lobelia and trailing fuchsias are also good for pollinators. Most of the traditional summer hanging basket plants are not sadly

Thanks SO much everyone for your kind advice - there are some great ideas here which I shall be following up. I'd love to do herbs - we are on a road so that means they probably won't be ideal to eat - but may be worth planting just for their other properties. Composting - wonderful idea - we probably have a community bin in our local park. I'd also love it if we had someone green-fingered who could look after the cuttings over winter - a good way of keeping it rolling until next year without too much extra cost. Thinking about that, I may do herbs mixed with geraniums and some lobelia for trailing.
Thanks again all!