Coralberry Punch sounds like just the refreshing beverage I need during these dog days of summer...but more about that in a bit.
I'm always on the lookout for lovely window box combinations. I see them in magazines and vow to remember and repeat them in my own creations. I even photographed bunches of them for future reference in Charleston while I visited that charming city.
But I seem to forget them once spring arrives and I'm at the garden center. So many choices, am I the only one who gets overwhelmed by them all?
My window boxes are a nice shade of terra cotta that contrasts well with the taupe-y stucco and stone trim of my home. That is, until you go to plant them. Any pretty shade of pink acquires the characteristics of a plastic flower next to the oranges tones of the box.
I learned this the hard way. Yellow doesn't do much better. Last year I played it safe and stuck in a melange of coleus that blended better but not great.
I knew I wanted to try a wine/lime color scheme; using various foliage shapes and colors. I needed a filler flower with prolific small blooms to bring it all together. Wandering through the nursery I spied the new Proven Winners Superbells "Coralberry Punch" that turned out to be just the ticket.
This Calibrachoa hybrid sports peachy color petals with a dark red flare and yellow eye, offering lots of shades to play off of when combining plants. This new plant doesn't need deadheading which works for me, since I don't need to climb up into these beds for that chore on a regular basis.
They've filled in even more since I took this quick iPhone photo.
Best of all, it doesn't clash with my window boxes. And as a bonus, hummingbirds love the tubular blossoms. They were buzzing within inches the moment I started planting them. As Miley, would say, "Pretty cool".
Window Box Recipe
Superbells "Coralberry Punch" (Calibrachoa hybrid)
Japanese Forest Grass (Hakonechloa macra) "Aureola"
Big Leaf Ivy
Beets "Bull's Blood"
Coleus "Red Wizard"
Golden Creeping Jenny (Lysimachia) "Aurea"
Don't limit your window boxes and containers to just annuals. Look around your own garden and see what perennials and even small shrubs can be used to perk up your pots. I dug up and divided the forest grass and creeping Jenny from areas of my yard. The big leaf ivy was mostly from last year's containers that I overwintered as houseplants. When fall comes I'll replant the first two and once again overwinter the ivies, making this a more economical and interesting solution to filling my window boxes every year.
