I love how a simple window box can change the whole feel of a home. A bare window suddenly looks softer, greener, and more welcoming. You get flowers at eye level and something cheerful to look at while you wash up or make tea.
If you have been staring at your windows and feeling unsure where to start, you are not alone. I have stood there too, wondering what size box to buy, what to plant, and how to keep it all alive. A few small tips can make the difference between straggly plants and a bright, lasting display.
Here you will find ideas for different styles of window planter boxes and the plants that suit them. I will walk you through shapes, materials, planting tricks, and easy combinations that have worked well for me. By the end, you should feel ready to pick a style you love and fill your windows with colour.
My Gallery of Window Planter Boxes
Now let me walk you through 19 window box ideas, each with simple notes on how you can copy the look at home.
1. Red Geranium & Alyssum Window Boxes
Bold red geraniums fill these rustic wooden window boxes, with soft mounds of white alyssum and trailing ivy spilling gently over the edges for an easy, welcoming look. The simple mix of bright color, neat green leaves, and a few tumbling vines suits the plain siding of the house, giving the whole spot a tidy charm that feels doable on any busy day.
2. Petunia & alyssum window box
This window planter box is packed with rich purple petunias, soft silver foliage, and a froth of tiny white alyssum flowers spilling gently over the black edge. The mix of bold color, silvery texture, and trailing blooms brightens the plain wall and shows how a simple box of plants can turn any window into a small, cheerful garden.
3. Yellow Petunias & Blue Lobelia Boxes
These window planter boxes pair soft yellow petunias with bright blue lobelia and upright green foliage, creating a neat stripe of color that frames the window against the pale siding.
The simple terracotta-style boxes sit comfortably on sturdy black brackets, making the flowers feel like an easy, everyday way to bring a fresh, cheerful touch to a small porch or deck.
4. Begonia, Coleus & Creeping Jenny Box
This long window box brims with soft pink begonias, rich burgundy coleus, and a spill of bright green creeping jenny that trails down toward the brick path. The mix of upright foliage and cascading vines fills the weathered green planter so well that the whole side of the house feels quietly lush and easily within reach for any small space.
6. Nasturtiums & Lobelia Window Box
A simple metal window box is packed with bright orange nasturtiums spilling over the edge, with a soft haze of deep blue lobelia tucked beneath their round green leaves.
The mix of trailing stems and low, mounding flowers brings a relaxed splash of color against the siding, offering a small, easy patch of garden that feels welcoming every time the window is passed.
7. White Impatiens, Polka Dot Plant & Ivy
This window box pairs soft white impatiens with a splash of pink polka dot plant in the center, while trailing ivy spills gently over the clean white edge. The mix of upright flowers and leafy green runners feels full yet tidy, creating an easy, welcoming look that suits almost any small outdoor space.
8. Blue Fescue, Candytuft & Calibrachoa Boxes
This long wooden window box is packed with soft blue fescue, peach calibrachoa, and neat mounds of white candytuft, creating an easy mix of texture and color right against the glass. The grasses give height and shape, while the flowers spill gently along the edge, making the whole space feel tidy, cheerful, and very doable for an everyday home.
9. White Begonias & Sweet Potato Vine
This window box pairs soft white begonias with bright chartreuse sweet potato vine and airy green foliage in the center, giving the narrow space a fresh, full look. The mix of trailing and upright plants softens the stone wall and frames the window in a way that feels easy to live with and simple to copy at home.
10. Petunias & Alyssum Window Boxes
Wooden window boxes are packed with soft mounds of white alyssum, orange-red petunias, and long silver-green trailers that spill neatly over the brick wall. The mix of bright blooms and trailing foliage suits the narrow ledge, adding color and a gentle, tidy look that makes the front of the house feel pleasantly cared for and easy to copy at home.
11. Purple Salvia & White Impatiens Window Box
This long black window box is packed with upright purple salvia, a neat line of white impatiens, and a soft spill of deep plum foliage that stands out beautifully against the pale grey siding. The simple color palette and tidy layers give the front of the house a crisp, finished look that feels easy to picture on almost any home.
12. Osteospermum & Sweet Alyssum Window Box
This simple window box pairs bright purple osteospermum with clouds of white sweet alyssum and a spill of fresh green trailing foliage, giving the old weathered wood a soft, lived‑in look.
The contrast of bold daisylike blooms, tiny fragrant flowers, and hanging greenery makes the small space feel full and welcoming, a reminder that even one sturdy planter can bring a whole wall to life.
13. Impatiens, Coleus & Variegated Ivy
This simple window box overflows with coral impatiens, a rich burgundy coleus, and soft variegated ivy that spills gently over the pale planter edge, bringing color and texture to an otherwise plain wall.
The mix of upright flowers and trailing foliage makes the narrow space feel full and lively, showing how a small planter can easily brighten a side path or back door.
14. Parsley, Purple Basil & Thyme Box
This window box turns a simple ledge into a small herb garden, with curly parsley, glossy purple basil, and a soft cascade of thyme spilling over the warm wooden planter.
The mix of rich green and deep plum foliage looks full and fresh against the pale window frame, making the whole corner feel like an easy, everyday spot to grow something useful and beautiful.
15. Pink Mums & White Bacopa Boxes
This long window box pairs bright pink mums with feathery blue fescue and trailing white bacopa, giving the plain siding a fresh band of color and texture. The rounded flowers, soft grasses, and spilling edges fill the narrow space without feeling heavy, creating a clean, easy look that feels simple to enjoy and easy to imagine at home.
16. White Bacopa, Ferns & Variegated Ivy
This window planter box layers soft white bacopa blooms in front of feathery green ferns, with variegated ivy spilling gently over the edges to frame the simple metalwork. The mix of upright, bushy, and trailing plants fills the narrow space with fresh color and texture, giving the small stairwell a calm, lived‑in look that feels easy to imagine at home.
17. Begonia & Dichondra Window Boxes
Soft coral begonias fill these black iron window boxes, with tall bronze spiky leaves and silver trailing dichondra spilling gently over the edge for an easy, eye-catching mix. The colors tie in neatly with the stone wall and simple front bed below, creating a tidy look that feels both welcoming and very doable at home.
18. White Geraniums & Blue Lobelia Box
This simple window planter pairs crisp white geraniums with a low, cloudlike layer of deep blue lobelia, all spilling from a weathered red box that stands out nicely against the pale siding. The trailing green vines soften the edges and draw the planting downward, giving the small entry a finished, welcoming look that feels easy to imagine at home.
19. Marigold & Verbena Window Box
A simple galvanized window box is packed with bright orange marigolds and soft purple verbena, with trailing green vines spilling gently over the edge. The bold flowers stand out against the light siding and make this small side yard feel lifted and cheerful, showing how a single planter can turn a plain wall into an easy, everyday garden moment.
FAQs
I like boxes that run almost the full width of the window. It frames the view and gives roots more room so plants stay happier.
I reach for pelargoniums, petunias, calibrachoa, and trailing verbena in full sun. They flower hard, forgive missed waterings, and spill nicely over the edge.
I usually choose begonias, fuchsias, heuchera, ivy, and trailing lobelia for shade. They give you colour and texture even when the light is low.
I aim for at least 8 inches deep for flowers and 10 inches for herbs. Roots can spread better, so plants cope with heat and missed waterings.
I mix in plenty of compost and some coir or leaf mould to hold water. A layer of fine bark or gravel on top slows evaporation and keeps roots cooler.
Yes, I always make sure there are drainage holes along the base. Without them, roots sit in water and plants sulk or rot.
I mix slow release granules into fresh compost, then use liquid feed every week in summer. Window boxes dry fast and nutrients wash out, so regular feeding keeps flowers coming.
I plant a bit closer than the label says and mix upright and trailing plants. You get instant fullness, and by mid season it looks like a soft waterfall of foliage and flowers.