Window Boxes

In honor of the first day of Spring, my daughter and I just planted primroses in the window boxes out front. Living on 4/100ths of an acre, there isn't much else room to garden.

I believe in the charm of window boxes. When I visited Germany for a summer in High School, I was struck by the profusion of window boxes on private houses and public buildings and what a cohesive force it was in the public space. Living in an urban area, where brick wall meets concrete sidewalk, flowers are very welcome. They remind us of the seasons, soften the hard edges of the built world, and represent hope, beauty, and rejuvenation.

One urban neighborhood that I have read about uses window boxes as activism. Over-the-Rhine, Cincinnati is a neighborhood full of 19th Century buildings and is listed on the National Historic Register. From a densely populated high of 44,000 residents in 1900, the current population is below 8,000. The grand buildings in the neighborhood have fallen into disrepair and are in danger of being lost. Crime is a major issue for the residents of the neighborhood. A group of residents decided to hang window boxes and fill them with lush plantings to emphasize that the neighborhood was cared for and looked after. The residents formed a group with the ambitious plan to create a mile of window boxes in Over-the-Rhine.

The "Broken Window" hypothesis which is used in criminology, says that disorder (broken windows) leads to increasing disorder, and eventually more and more severe crimes. In Over-the-Rhine, the window box gardeners are hoping that order will bring more and more order and a reduction in crime. In addition the window boxes act to give the neighborhood some distinction, some "branding" to the neighborhood. Now you are in Over-the-Rhine, now you are not. It also recalls the neighborhood's German roots. I think it's an awesome idea, better than the ubiquitous "flag" approach to dressing up urban spaces.

Window boxes are more difficult to get right than they seem at first. They look best when they are a bit wider than the window they are beneath. They must be attached securely to something. I carefully measured the space outside my first floor windows and ended up buying window boxes from Williams Sonoma. I wanted wrought iron to match the outside fence, and I was looking for a design that harmonized with the age of my house. After I got the boxes, I found out they were wider than advertised. That caused me to rethink how they were going to be attached. I attached them to my house, but eventually they started pulling down the old wood. Eventually I got a carpenter to come and build up a really firm foundation for my boxes.

Watering is not an issue for these boxes because they are at ground level. I don't have second floor boxes because we have storm windows and security screens and I wouldn't be able to water them. One problem I do have is that the boxes are in deep shade and almost any flower box arrangement I have ever seen relies on sun-loving plants. Every summer I try different things in the boxes, although the boring coleus and impatiens are usually the best. In Winter, I fill them with holly, pine and Christmas balls.

But in Spring time, I look forward to the pansies, primroses and ranunculus. For the price of a bouquet, I get two months of a cheery welcome home.