Stylish window box ideas

Easy window box ideas for city gardens, perfect for brightening up your view and delighting passers-by

When space is at a premium, it pays to be inventive with what little room you have. Window boxes - tiny pockets of flowers and foliage scattered across city centres - are a wonderful way to bring green into the concrete jungle and brighten up a city garden. We've searched Instagram and our archive for our favourite ways with a window box. From exotic evergreens to traditional blooms, it's time to transform your windowsill into something spectacular.

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A beautiful example of using different heights to create a dynamic display.

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Plant tall varieties in the back, medium in the middle and trailing at the front for a verdant waterfall effect.

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Choosing a colour scheme that complements your outdoor wall is key. Here, soft pink and bright purple work brilliantly with the white window frame and box and blue-grey walls.

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Aim for colours that work as a scheme, pairing pink and yellow florals with red and orange leaves for example.

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Spring calls for lighter, softer colours. Pinks and whites herald the new season and abundance makes a statement for the coming wealth of crops.

Smart ideas for small gardens
Ngoc Minh Ngo

Jos and Annabel White's house in Manhattan's West Village features a small city garden, so they add extra greenery with window boxes hanging from the balcony.

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Jungle-like combinations of plants work well against a deep Georgian black-blue wall.

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Red geraniums are a classic choice for a window box. Here they work particularly well against a backdrop of mustard yellow and warm terracotta red.

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Choose climbing pelargoniums and geraniums to create a verdant screen to mask a view into a ground floor flat.

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Tiny violas are a delicate choice for a country cottage windowsill. Victorian Violas has the very best selection.

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If you are lucky enough to live somewhere temperate why not create exotic window boxes with tropical plants underplanted with ferns.

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A plethora of potted succulents is a modern and low-maintenance choice.

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Begonias have been unfashionable for too long - embrace their blowsy splendour for a window box your gran would be proud of.

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Dwarf dahlias work well in a small windowbox and come in a plethora of colours - from candy pink to bright orange.

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Underplant windowbox classics such as pelargoniums and petunias with a trailing vine for a contemporary twist.


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