WINDOW BOXES IN CARMEL – ADDING CHARM TO THE FAIRYTALE COTTAGE

There will always be a place in my heart for a cottage. How satisfying to stop in front of a picket fence with a gate that opens under an arbor covered by rambling roses. Ahead is a small home with smoke rising from a chimney.  Shutters and window boxes frame the windows and rocking chairs wait on the front porch. SIGH

I love the myriad window boxes in Carmel. They add their welcoming touch to both homes and business. Let me show you some of my favorites, because even if one does not live in a cottage, one can have a window box. They add a bit of “soul”.

I love the way  “Curtain Call”  paints the box to match the trim and plants it for spring with 

Tulips

Primrose

And Sweet Alyssum

Many simply overflow with geraniums – more correctly referred to as Pelargonium. Although annuals in my native Kansas, in Carmel  the temperate climate encourages year round bloom.

“Sea Beauty”

 “Casa de Suenos”

Boxes contain stocky Pelargonium hortoum with large double flowers.

Whittakers

But more often hold Pelargonium peltatum with their ivy shaped leaves and spreading, trailing or climbing habit. These “Ivy Geraniums” adore the cooler temperatures of Carmel . They dislike my Kansas City climate when it gets above 85 degrees.

“Meredith’s Linens and Such”

I like this idea of building a shelf beneath the window  on which to put the potted plants.

“Hearts and Flowers”

This gardener mixes geranium with fuchsia in rich colors.

Here is a creative mix of geranium

Johnny-Jump-Up

Million Bells 

New Guinea Impatiens,

 And white Petunias

Not to mention a “lawn” of  Chilean Lily.

“Songbird” sports a box full of small,delicate, pastel blooms

Diascia

Lobelia

And Bacopa

A nearby neighbor also uses Lobelia but pairs it with petunia and uses bold color both on her house and in her pots beneath.

“The Irish Rose” just blows me away with this asymmetrical look. Charming.

Cyclamen is another cool weather favorite here.

The Cottage Of Sweets

replaces it in the summer with this riot of 

Petunia

New Guinea Impatiens 

And melampoduim.

“Chez Joy” faces toward the sun and uses sun-loving

Million Bells

And white Bacopa.

Three of my favorite window boxes are at the house I have named Twisted Oak

Chinese Lantern

Golden edged Ivy

Swedish Ivy 

Begonia and wispy fern

Are artistically combined.

“Ocean’s End” gets fabulous results with the humble petunia.

“Sunwise Turn Cottage” chooses orange Impatiens used “en masse”

Above a planting of Crocosmia

Beneath the kitchen window

Variegated Geranium

And melampodium 

Mix well. 

On Mission Lane planters

overflow with begonia

And beneath the windows of The Grill On Ocean , geranium mix with

Pencil plant

And “Purple Queen” Aeonium.

Ok ,I really have to stop now. But I hope you got some good ideas to add a little “soul” to your cottage.