Esoteric but can anyone help - railing attached window boxes

[BasiliskStare]

Very grateful for any recommendations - I have googled until my eyes have given up

What I am after is black window boxes which can be attached to railings with a screw thing so they cannot be removed. I can't have a proper window box as our window sills are sloping and I don't want to drill into them.

I have found some but they tend to be grey - I am looking for black with a fixing mechanism to railings - total length approx 2m ( bit shorter than that ) but can put shorter ones together

Oh and just to make it more difficult I would like them with the reservoir system so that when watered they stay a bit watered . I want them to look quite smart so not just plain plastic.

I have googled so I am not hopeful but if anyone has an idea ( apart from my mother saying get a blacksmith to make to to spec which will cost a fortune ) I would be grateful

I just want to put e.g. trailing ivy and bedding plants in them.

Thank you to anyone who can point me anywhere which helps . I do not have a proper garden so this would be quite nice to get some planting and colour

How sloping are the windowsills? Could you fix a wedge to the base of the windowbox? It's what we've done with a sloping sill.

Thank you @MereDintofPandiculation I have measured and measured. Our problem is the window sills are not deep enough so any window box would have to hang over and there have something to stabilise them - fix them. So ( we have a small house ) just a wedge won't do it. ( believe me I have measured etc. There are houses near to us where they would workk but they have flatter ( even if a bit sloped ) and wider window sills that us

But I appreciate your comment - I have tried that & it sounds like the right answer but won't work on our tiny sills which is why I am thinking over the railings might work if I can find the right thing

Thank you though - I really appreciate you replying

www.elho.com/en/collection/product/8711904138271/corsica-flower-bridge-60-anthra/

this one?

I wouldnt worry about colour too much if you're wanting black. Surely most materials will be straightforward to paint? Grey would be ideal as a good neutral base.

Paint the grey ones black.

There are hundreds of how-to videos on youtube.

Here's one of many:

There are some balcony planters here

Oh thank you all

Do you think I could paint a plastic base oblack - I suspect I can - & will looks at that You Tube thing.

All thanks to @MereDintofPandiculation @pinkbalconyrailing @sleepyhead @TorkTorkBam and @Knittedfairies

I suspect the answer is to get the size and fixings and paint

Thank you all - if I get this sorted out I will send photographs - but very very helpful - Thank you all of you

I don't have many places I can plant so hanging over the railings is one - so thank you for this - Did not think I would get so much of a response - so thank you all again

Basilisk

Yes you can paint plastic.

Do the right surface prep then use the right products and it will be fine.

This video is probably more useful.to you than the last one .

thank you @pinkbalconyrailing ( you certain have the right name for this because although I want a black planter I will be planting pink flowers in it )
The problem with that one is that our railings have spikes which go above the rail - so I need one with hanging brackets and as they will be directly on to the pavement I need brackets which mean they can't just be easily hoiked off by some malefactor

I have now given up on the self watering thing as cannot find what I want in black so will now be looking for just general window boxes which have a fixing to our railings

I really appreciate our effort though - it gives me hope that I haven't missed something obvious

Basilisk

When you say your DM suggested getting something custom made by a blacksmith, did you mean a window box guard like in this photo? Many of them have a bottom grille that you stand the window box in rather than on the window sill (the window box holder is attached to the wall). Like this (although you can get less fancy ones for much less on Amazon/ebay):

www.stylensteelltd.co.uk/366765752

I have the Lechuza self watering window boxes that Knittedfairies linked to. I can't recommend them enough. They are a plant lifesaver in the summer when pots need watering twice a day or if I go away for a few days. They can store enough water to last 2 weeks. Their system works far better than the wick type self watering pots.

I have them fixed to railings on a balcony and also on the wall. They have adjusters so they don't have to sit flush to the wall. You could fix them below your windowsill but away from the wall so the top of the window box at the back is level with the edge of your windowsill IYSWIM?

The other great thing about them is they they have a removable inner box with handles that you can pull out with the plants so you don't have to lean out the window to prune/deadhead/replant etc. Or, if you have storage space, you can have more than one set so instead of replanting you can have a set with summer perennials, another with spring bulbs and a winter set.

I have them in anthracite with pink and white flowers and they look great, if not true black. Although you can hardly see them under the trailing plants. Or you could paint them black. They have lots of bright colours too in matt and gloss that could work with pink. They change their colours every season.

If yours don’t come with drainage holes ar the bottom, drill them a couple of inches up the side instead and that will work as a reservoir.

If you want to be fancier you can put some upside down pond plant baskets below the level of the hole you drill and that will make an even better reservoir.