Best Flowers for Window Boxes — 7 Vibrant Varieties to Add Style to the Front of Your Home

With these best flowers for window boxes, you can be sure to boost your home's natural charm, for both you and for passersby. After all, from the inside, these become part of your view of the outdoors, and from the outside, the flowers become part of your home's character. 

However, there are certain things you need to consider before you buy. 'One thing to consider while choosing these flowers is the sunlight exposure in your window,' says Kat Aul Cervoni, landscape designer and founder of Staghorn NYC and The Cultivation by Kat. 'Too much light and the plants are susceptible to drying out pretty quickly. So, for folks with extra-sunny exposures, it may be prudent to choose particularly water-savvy plants, such as sedums and succulents, or else watering might be a daily duty.'

If you're keen to explore this container gardening practice, then top experts offer suggestions on the best varieties for window boxes.

1. Petunias

If you’re after all-year-round color, then consider planting annuals in your window box. ‘Annuals are probably best for color as they bloom all season long as compared to perennials that go in and out of flower throughout the season,' says Diane Blazek from the National Garden Bureau tells us. 

Perhaps the most common flower trend spotted blooming in window boxes is the much-loved Petunia. The bright and beautiful florals are a sure-fire way to add some color to the outside of your home. But just be warned: the annual flower loves regular watering and sunlight. 

2. Touch-Me-Not

This plant does not pose a lot of hassle, and is a great flower for low maintenance gardens. All it needs is a nice dose of sun for good growth.

'Touch-me-not plants (Mimosa pudica) love lots of sunlight and moist-but-well-draining soil,' says Kat Aul Cervoni. 'Place these low-maintenance plants near eastern or south-facing windows for a daily dose of rays to prevent them from closing up and also help with blooming. Be wary of fertilizer-enriched potting soil mixes as they may be too rich for them.'

If you prefer to fertilize it naturally, consider mixing coffee grounds, banana peels, eggshells, and green tea in the potting mix.

3. Pansies

Pansies are not only one of the best flowers for the window box but are also ideal for the fall season. These are great main-theme flowers and can upgrade the look of your flower beds planted along the window. 

'Pansies offer a wide range of vibrant colors and are well-suited to the confined space of window boxes,' says Reese L Robins, a gardening expert at Just Pure Gardening. 'They provide a burst of seasonal color and are relatively easy to care for. Incorporating a mix of other flowers allows you to create visually appealing and ever-changing displays throughout the year.'

One thing to keep in mind before choosing flowers is 'to consider the aesthetic appeal and color coordination to enhance your home's curb appeal,' says Reese.

4. Geraniums

Easy to grow, easy to love, and easy to look after, geraniums make for popular urban gardening varieties, and look pretty in hanging baskets. 

The vitamin D-loving flower, which is more informally known as cranesbills, is believed to have more than 422 species and it comes in a variety of shades, including red and white, orange and yellow, pink, violet and lilac, so there's something to suit every modern front garden color scheme. 

For other sun-loving plants, Diane recommends adding, ‘calibrachoa, geraniums, snapdragons, verbena, lantana and shorter varieties of zinnias and marigolds.’

5. Rosemary 

Don't have room for a herb garden? Create your herb garden from your window sill. Coming in handy for cooking, adding rosemary to your window box will give your sill a hit of greenery and leave a pleasant aroma for anyone walking by. Plus, it's also ideal for all those living the good life in a small backyard. 

‘Some herbs like basil and rosemary are good fillers and oregano and thyme as spillers,' says Diane. Or learn how to grow cilantro for another window box addition. 

6. Fuchsias

Does you window get more shade than the sun? Consider adding bright and beautiful shade-loving florals to your window with a perennial like the much-loved fuchsia. These flowers are a big garden trend and look great every year.

The exotic-looking flower, which looks like little hanging lanterns, tends to trail (although they can grow upright with a little bit of TLC) making for the perfect addition to hanging baskets. 

'Fuchsia aside, perennials that work well in window boxes include varieties like strawberry, sedum, marigold, creeping jenny, pansy, Ivy, and lavender,' says Reese. 'These plants are not only beautiful but also adapt well to the limited space of window boxes. They're known for their resilience and ability to return year after year, making them a cost-effective and low-maintenance choice for window box gardening. Their trailing or compact growth habits add a lovely dimension to your windowsill garden.'

7. Ivy

It’s not just flowers and herbs that you can fill your window box and modern garden with. To help decorate the space and add some greenery to your window sills that will improve your home's curb appeal, consider adding evergreen fillers to your box. 

According to Diane, ‘Sweet potato vines, ivies, vinca minor, creeping Jenny, and other trailing foliage or blooming plants, would work well. 

How many flowers should you put in a window box?

‘There are two things one needs to know first to figure out how many flowers are needed,' Diane says. 'First, what size (height and width) are the flowers you wish to use? Secondly, how long and deep is your window box? ' 

For a window box, you can position each plant closer together than what the tag or label suggests. Just know that some plants are more aggressive growers so they may outgrow their neighbors. 

'A little trial and error goes a long way in learning what works best together but to start, and in general terms, you can place one plant every 6” in a window box, going right to the ends to make the box look full and lush,’ says Diane.