What would you put in window boxes which get no sun?

[Tatties]

I would really like to brighten up the front of our house with some window boxes - I am a bit of a novice though so not sure what to plant in them. They would be N/NE facing, and would get very little (if any) direct sunlight. Any help much appreciated!

If you want colour, busy lizzies are the best - they grow in sun or shade, don't need deadheading and will last until Autumn. They are cheap and cheerful and do the job. They are probably the only flowering plant that will perform where you want them to. They also come in loads of colours, mainly primary colours and salmon pink but also white, which looks realy good on a N/NE aspect. The only drawback is that they are tender - ie, frost will kill them (really kill them). Therefore, they shouldn't be planted out in the window box until after frost time. 1st June is perfect. You may need to buy them before that date. If so, keep them indoors on a sunny windowsill until planting-out time and don't let them dry out. If you want a bit of trailing greenery, trailing ivy added to the window boxes will work well in a N/NE situation. Good luck, the front of your house will look fab.

Bizzie lizzies are best - I have a window box on a very shady ledge and white bizzie lizzies really cheer it up. You could add some trailing ivy to soften the edges.

Violas also do well in shade and come in a softer range of colours (white, yellows, lilac and purple).

Looks like it's going to be busy lizzies then
Thank you both, that's really helpful!

Or try lots of different types of hostas with some flowering plants. Hostas come in many leaf types and they produce long delicate looking purple/lilac flowers over the summer too! We had a window box like this last year and it looked fab.

Busy Lizzies, begonias, fuchias, ivy, impatiens, possibly ferns.

We've got ivy and impatiens and they're both doing fine. Might try planting some busy lizzies in the beds beneath once the last frost has been and gone.