Window Boxes

The shed is part of our yard that I have mostly come to terms with. We painted it about 2 years go. We were mostly happy with it.

Then we had the pool put in. In doing so we had to take down a row of hedges and suddenly it became very prominent when floating around the pool. Julie touched up the windows with white paint and we made plans to build window boxes. We make lots of plans while floating in the pool.

Before. The dirt splashed shed.

I went looking for pre-made window boxes and was stunned by how expensive they are. We weren’t really looking for a $600 project that ended with very traditional looking window boxes. So I ended going with some pre-made deck railing planters and shelf brackets.

Then, because I’m having extreme motivation problems thanks to COVID, they sat there for a couple months. But I got energized during the July 4th weekend and built the shelves. And stained them. And then stained all of my backyard furniture.

Clearly a little too energized.

They are very simple. I just used 4 pieces of 1×4 and cut them with a handsaw to be slightly larger than the windows. Each shelf is 3 pieces of wood. I put shims between them to provide a nice drainage space and then attached the brackets with screws. The stain was left over from the Decorative Wall Panel project. And the lumber was a side-effect of having a theatre company. We always have lumber.

It was a very un-fussy project. And I’m really happy with the outcome!

They look great from the pool. But it’s too bright and hot right now (109 heat index!) to take that picture. In any case, I’m really happy with them. Both of the plants are just volunteers I dug up from my paths. The left are “Laura Bush” Petunias and the right is Moss Verbena.

Any ideas for more mostly shade plants are welcome in the comments. I’m thinking about trying some Drummond Phlox next year.

One thought on “Window Boxes”

  1. I think you are fortunate to have shade. I have them in west facing sun and it’s a struggle. I think you should have better luck. Small ferns maybe so that they cascade. Impatiens, begonias. Something tall at the back. Feather grass. Easy care. Not sure how watering will be. Frequent I think.

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