Window DRESSING

High summer is the time for pretty, tender plants and, with no threat of frost, why not go to town on wonderful window boxes?

- WENDY HUMPHRIES

The sky’s the limit when it comes to the planting possibilities and colour schemes for window-box gardening. From the scents of perfumed flowers wafting into the home on warm summer nights to the sight of cheery flowers at close quarters on rainy days, you can create just what you want.

Where boxes can’t sit directly on windowsills without being in the way, you may prefer to use brackets to fix the boxes just below the level of the sills. This is safer for upstairs windows, rather than risking boxes falling and causing accidents, and a useful way to allow more light into the room.

Long-term planning

A permanent planting of evergreens offers scope for year-round interest, and can easily be brightened up with the addition of trailing petunias or pelargoniums. The clipped pyramids of box and trailing, variegated ivy provide a formal display to a sash window – and such a scheme would be just as good in a shady site as in sun.

Go edible!

Window boxes make super mini veg plots and herb gardens. Choose your edibles carefully, depending on whether your windowsill is in sun or shade.

Summer salads