A Gardeners Forum Forums Members History Forum Life 2006 Newbie wants an indoor flower box, possible? Please help...

Hello, up to now I have had a pretty black thumb due to not being around home and not really paying attention. I am now a stay at home mom and would like to give plants / flowers another shot. I live on the 3rd floor of a three family home. I have a ton of windows! I thought of the idea of putting window boxes on the inside of my windows. I'm not in the best area so putting them outside would be kindof a waist.

What I'd like to accomplish is some beautiful flowers / plants that will look decent all year (blooming or not). I have about 5-8 windows that I'd like to do. I'm not exactly wealthy either. My home decor is sortof a blue/yellow/white spring toile french country type look. I'd like to have some flowers that go well with the decor. I also don't want to bite off more than I can chew with my first big planting project and wasting all kinds of money on dead plants. lol. Any ideas? Where to start? Layout ideas? Nicely priced boxes? Oh, I live in Boston, MA area - not really sure how to figure out zone. I found this flower that I absolutely love called "Aquilegia, Blue/White" Anybody know about this flower? Am I in over my head, or on to something?

Well flowers don't bloom all year long. Sorry to disappoint but there it is. The cheapest way to start gardening indoors or out is by starting with seeds rather than starter plants so you have the right idea there.

Heating drys the air in a home so you will need either a water feature close to where you are going to have your plants or humidity trays underneath your planters.

Depending on the depth of your window sills will depend on if you can put window boxes in them without modifying them.

I would think about getting some of the houseplants that have colorful foliage to help with those times when you don't actually have anything flowering. A coleus is very easy care and comes with many different types of foliage that is very pretty. It likes to stay moist and although it is advertised as a shade plant mine does very well in the east window down here in Virginia.

No matter what you decide on remember that all the plants in the same planter must have the same needs as far as water, sun, fertilizer and humidity otherwise it won't work.

Now paperwhites and crocuses are early spring bloomers that are bulbs rather than seeds. They will bloom inside but the blooms don't last all that long and then you have to store the bulbs until they can be planted again.

Now I have a purple passion plant that is a vine. It is a fast grower and is usually propigated by cutting. It would easily grow up the sides and around the top of your window to frame it and it also likes the soil kept moist. I'm thinking one vine on each end of the box might be very nice. It's leaves have a dark green color covered with purple hair. The leaves are shaped something like a holly leaf except no thorns lol. I could send you some cuttings once the weather warms up a bit. They like the temperature to stay right around 70 if they can get it. My apartment has been a little cooler than that and they are still fine so I don't worry about that as much as I used to.

I can't think of what else I would put in a flower box right now but I'll keep thinking and get back to you. I just missed my bus lol. Well that's me and flowers.

African Violets would work right??

Or maybe a combination of the purple passion plant and bulbs <for spring>>

Wow, thanks for the help. I found this website www.michaganbulbs.com and they are giving 20 off your order of 50 but it seems like they add up kinda fast. Do you know of any good websites or stores that I could check out?

Bulbs are always expensive I like brecks because of the quality of the bulbs and the way they are packaged. Autumn Ridge Nursery is suppose to be one of the cheaper places to go for seeds but I haven't checked them out yet.

Another plant that I thought of that you might want to try is the arabian jasmine. It is suppose to have a wonderful fragrance and be able to take some shade. It is a vine and is usually bought as a starter plant. It is pricy but the smell should make it worth the investment.

If you like cactus a selection of them and other succulents could make for a very interesting window box. That gives you a place for your aloe which is good for burns and other hurts that occur.

Kalanchoe, Amaryllis, Impatiens are some other flowering plants that do well inside. I've done the amaryllis but find caring for bulbs between growing seasons to be to much hassle. I've seen the Kalanchoe at lowe's and I think I may want one but right now I have no space for even one more flower. And I love the double bloom Impatiens and currently have some coming up from seed for my garden. I can't wait to see them.

I heard Autumn Ridge Nursery has bad service..

I was going to try them this year anyway cuz I need a bunch of Periwinkle aka vinca minor..

Wal-Mart usually has blooming bulbs in spring.

Heres a sight that has pretty good prices and lists several different online companies..But I don't have any experience with any of them except for Breck's which did good by me..

http://www.quality-discount-flower-bulbs.com/

Breck's is having a special spend $50 get $25 off

That's a pretty nifty deal.

Sorry to hear about the bad service at Autumn.

I have a catalog from Autumn Ridge Nursery and their prices are ROCK BOTTOM..SOOOOOO I am going to take a chance and hope that the complaints I read were just inexperienced gardeners whining...Some of the complaints are that Autumn Ridge sent the WRONG plants...The complainers said when they tried to contact the company they received no response...I know how to handle something like that...A registered letter to the company with a CC..to The Postmaster General vs mail fraud would make them move their hiney's and make the order right fast...<<smile>>

I can handle some little mistakes by them just for the prices..

The Autumn Ridge Catalog has tons of deals and free plants and or trees...too..The more you spend the more you get FREE.

Okay guys, new update. I just bought on ebay 7 types of african violets. They are all babies already started. They are going to be shipped out today. Emergency, what should I buy for these guys. What soil, fertilizer, any other ideas, when do you think they will bloom? They ady I am buying them from says they like bottom feeding. Is that where you sit them in a pan of water instead of pouring on top?

Oh yea I also bought 1400 seeds of coleus, same question what type of soil and stuff?

Here's the pics of the av's I bought. I spents $50 on all 7 plants including shipping. Did I spend to much? Are they good and healthy? Guess I should of read up on them more beofore bidding. lol

Getting the AV Queen onto your case now.

There is a whole thread on AV's in the container gardening forum, I believe. Barleychown is our AV queen and can answer any additional Q's you have.

Okay, just got back from home depot! Wow, I think this forum is as addictive as my new planting habit. Well anyway not sure if I bought the right stuff let me know.

1. 2 - 12" Window Box (it's about 5" tall and ceramic)

2. 2 - 24" Window Box (it's about 7" tall and white plastic)

I know these boxes are bigger, but I was wanting to put more than one plant in each. How many av's should I put in the 12"? If it is just to big is there a way to use it and maybe fill the bottom so not to use up the whole pot? I was thinking about using the 24" for the coleus for now.

3. 1 - Bag of Scotts Perlite

4. 1 - Bag of Scotts Potting Soil (added phosphorus)

So from what I gathered on the forums I should mix 1/2 perlite and half potting soil together. Is the phosphorus a problem? I couldn't seem to find any just plain potting soil. I found an african violet food but the hdepot lady said it wasn't needed because of the soil. But she also said she didn't know much about planting right before, what do you guys think?

I found these great redwood boxes and had them in my cart I was even going to stain them a darker wood to match my furniture and I got to the front and the wanted $20 each. So out they want and in came the $6 white plastic ones. Just couldn't do it right now maybe later. The ceramic one are gorgeous! The have blue and yellow flowers on them and are just perfect! Although a little worried about witting them on the window sills for fear they might fall. I guess I should get little tables to put in front of the windows to put them on. Boy it adds up fast, I think I'm up to almost $200 spent so far.

Gosh, I must be a pain. Sorry for all the questions, but you guys are a real help. You're like my new gardening buddies! Thanks!

Hey I just saw a really cool flower box at WalMart for $11 on clearance - you can pm me if you want me to pick it up for you!

Also what I do with my potting soild - I buy the bags by the cubic foot of Miracle gro, I pull out a bunch, then I throw a bag of perlite in, a bunch of Agro-soke, sometimes some peat moss, (sometimes some organic insecticide granules if it's indoors) and IF you can find it, get a bag of lava soil - it's AWESOME! Then close the bag and roll it around really good. I also water with Superthrive added into it, that helps with the shock of transplantation. Also be sure to put some gravel on the bottom, or broken pots if there is not sufficient drainage, otherwise you're inviting all kinds of problems.

FYI, I used to work for Home Depot - you really don't need any training, and those people will tell you anything to make it sound like they know what they're talking about, and also to keep from doing any extra work. You may as well be talking to a cardboard cutout. In other words, don't listen to any advice they give you.

Okay so far I've got the perlite and potting soil with phosphorus (it says it stimulates root growth - will it do well for my av's). I did not find agro-soke or peat moss, or insecticide (it is indoors), or lava soil. Do I need all of these things? hdepot was pretty limited, I guess cause it's not spring yet.

Great idea on the rocks. It was trying to think of something for filler at the bottom of the pots. Cause someone on here had the idea of putting the av's in the original cup into the bigger window box and cover the top with moss to hide it.

About the flower box, what does it look like?