I planted the window box outside of my upstairs laundry room today. The small windows have wonderful screens. The spacious counter is extra deep. My Ikea farmhouse sink sits in the middle. It wasn't easy.
Sitting on the counter removing the screen
Planting a second story window box sometimes requires a different strategy. Do you go up a ladder Chevy Chase-style, certain to fall? Or do you lean out from above? Do you drag a bag of potting soil and all your plants up the stairs?
Our new house isn't finished but we've already moved into it. We had been renting the house next door to our building site, but our time was up. The late snows and rainy spring has our exterior languishing in the last stages and well, my garden is just bare dirt and a dream. Nothing can happen until the concrete driveway and sidewalks go in and more rain is on tap this week.
And wouldn't you know it's plant sample season and every day brings a new box of beautiful goodies begging for a place to grow.
Temporarily taping the coir to keep soil inside
The Shock Wave Medley and Easy Wave Medley Petunias from the Harris Seed Trials were just the thing for this window box, These saturated colors like Coral Crush and Wave Denim, Coral Reef and Wave Violet will look great with our dark gray/green house color (Benjamin Moore "Quarry Rock") and black trimmed windows.
Wave petunias are also weather resistant and self-cleaning, a big plus since I don't want to be leaning out the window to deadhead.
These bright colors will attract butterflies and hummingbirds too.
After several false starts and forgetting the fertilizer, I began this odyssey with a little help from Hannah, my daughter who's visiting but probably wishing she would've stayed home.
At first I was the only one sitting on the counter with my feet in the sink. However I couldn't do the same twisty maneuver for the other side with my sore back, so Hannah hoisted herself on the other side and we commenced to plant.
The samples are small for now but they'll soon fill in, mound up and spill over for a great window dressing fashion statement.
