Could your plain garden shed use some additional flowers and enhancements? Here’s how to make easy window boxes, choose the right flowers, plant them and change them up each year!
My little rustic garden shed flower boxes have officially been planted with flowers for the summer! And boy did it need an overhaul!
Let’s take a closer look…
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Garden shed window boxes filled with this summer’s flowers
How to build easy window box planters HERE
How to build simple DIY window boxes
To start, you’ll first need some window boxes. But the good news is, they are very easy to build to your chosen custom sizes!
The window box planters with a rustic charm vibe were built from scratch with salvaged wood, lined with a heavy gauge plastic I picked up from my local home improvement store.
This tutorial shares how they were built, instantly aged with paint, stenciled, then prepared for outdoor use planting.
How to build easy window box planters HERE
View garden stencils used HERE
How to save money on plants
Have you also noticed how quickly plants and flowers add up pricewise?
But they don’t have to! Last summer I managed to save big by purchasing summer flowers at a deep discount while shopping discount tables.
As long as you don’t mind nursing tired plants back to health, it’s the first place I check when I shop for flowers and plants now.
HERE is how my discount flowers turned out!
And HERE is how I landed $5 ferns and how they grew out. Amazing.
However this year, I decided to get flowers at different locations closer to me that had no discounts on. So this round, I purchased what I really wanted which is of course a perk if you purchase regular retail!
In hindsight, I think I did just as well getting the plants at a ¼ of the cost last year. So I’ll be visiting the discount tables again next time I’m by for sure!
Combine all this with the reclaimed wood fence I just installed on the shed in THIS POST…
The garden shed went to this overgrown, messy weed-infested before…
And then I landed this super cool and perfectly fitting reclaimed gate…
To this currently much prettier after! I’d say we’re off to a great start!
Here’s a little closer look at how things get if you leave them unattended.
The front of the shed had an interesting vibe. “I’m skiing, but stopped for a rest so I could prune the grapevines off the shed.”
Yeah… no.
The painted and stenciled skis looked super cute over winter which you can see HERE. But it’s now summer, so let’s move on to something fresh and new.
And of course, the flower box planters added last summer needed a major overhaul with new flowers overflowing their sides once again.
Let’s fix this!
First stop was the nursery to gather up some flowers.
The window box planters were reworked, removing weeds and some old features, then new soil was added to freshen things up!
Selecting flowers for a window box design
- Purchase sun / shade appropriate flowers for your location.
- Choose colours and theme.
- Plant a thriller, filler and spiller for the fullest effect.
- Ask for guidance at the plant nursery if uncertain, bringing sample pictures on your phone.
- Inquire about the appropriate food and soil.
Since this shed is located under a large sumac shade tree, the shed really isn’t in the full sun at all except for the East side during the morning, then a little sun hits the North side during the evening. So for the most part, this is a shady spot, which makes keeping up with the flowers easier.
To plant, a simple rule of thumb for window box planting is thinking in terms of thriller, filler and spiller. Meaning, you want a little height, something that fills in mid stream, and something that spills over the window box sides.
These window boxes aren’t all that large, so I stuck with a thriller/filler combo (geraniums) and spiller this round and may get more creative next year.
So grab your gardening tools, and here’s how to do it!
How to re-plant window box planters with flowers
- Remove some of last year’s soil and top with fresh, new potting soil geared for container planting.
- Dig small holes for the plants.
- Water the plants well, then remove from pots.
- Slightly separate the roots by gently pulling the root ball in both directions.
- Place the plants in the soil, then cover the roots firmly.
- Water really well, making sure the drainage holes are working well.
- Keep soil slightly moist, otherwise the peat moss will harden the soil, repelling the water.
- Have some Miracle Grow on hand, and follow the directions.
Read how to prepare new wooden window boxes for plants in THIS POST.
Much better, don’t you think?! It’s a good start.
Let’s go over the flowers that were added this summer.
Chosen window box flowers
Red geraniums
My love for red geraniums runs deep. In the early days of gardening around the shed, red was my chosen colour every year. Red just pops! And seems to go with everything else.
White Stream Lobularia
- Sun to part shade
- 8-12″ high x 18″ wide
- Blooms spring through autumn
I felt the red geraniums pair nicely with White Stream Lobularia, which has a sweet, honey.-like fragrance. I like how this variety trails downwards which will hopefully have a nice full effect once it starts to grow in.
Creeping Jenny
Creeping Jenny wintered over from last year, so I left some of it to see if it filled in again. I love its vibrant green tone and chimes in so well with the vivid green grass below it.
Small window box on front of shed
- English Ivy
- Red Geraniums
- Lobularia
And in the front smaller window box, some ivy that wintered from last year is combined with the red geraniums and lobularia along with a stump!
A wooden stump arrangement with planters
A couple of other planters were added which may get different flowers at some point. But I planted what I had on hand to make it work for now.
The moss flower basket is planted with Forget-Me-Nots, and the wooden hanging basket with a red geranium and lobularia.
I rather like how the planters are all bounced around at different levels. Really makes your eyes wander to take it all in.
Succulents in a crate planter
On the other side of the shed, I took advantage of a little wooden crate that was already attached to the shed sides, and filled it with fresh potting soil and a succulent from the yard. I don’t know the name of it.
Teamed up with a rustic wooden adirondack chair, I think the front of the shed has a cute, quaint appearance with another robust round of grapevines growing all over the roof once again!
I actually trimmed the grapevines back a little so you could spot parts of the shed roof.
The two galvanized planters are so far empty, but if I land perhaps a solar water fountain, that could be fun! Or I may plant more flowers while they are stacked as such.
Perennial flower bed
Sorry, the exact names are not known.
- Left / succulent
- Middle / grass
- Right / fern
This side of the shed is a north-facing window, and the perennials planted in the flower bed below just keep coming back! They couldn’t be easier to manage since they do all the work and I just weed (on occasion) water and wait for them to do their thing.
I did add some Lamb’s Ears on the left while cutting the flower bed edge a little larger to incorporate it.
Video – how to edge a flower bed for sharp, gorgeous results!
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Learn my easy secrets on how to edge flowerbeds like a pro HERE
Newly planted flowers always take a little bit of time to really get going, so I’ll be sure to update this post later in the summer when they are at their fullest and most beautiful!
I plan to care for them by keeping the soil moist, topped with fresh new planter box soil if needed, and fertilized on occasion with Miracle Grow.
Future garden shed plans
The garden shed all decked out with its window planter boxes is quite a cute little focal point for the backyard, isn’t it?
I’d like to cut the flower beds larger connecting the shed flowerbeds to the back gate, but I’m edging my way to increasing the flowerbeds slowly, so I can keep up with all the changes as I go. Every time you cut a flower bed larger, the upkeep increases as well!
Besides, what’s the rush, right? I have all summer to play.
We’re also putting in an inflatable hot tub on the other side of the yard with a little wooden deck we will build ourselves, so there’s that we are focusing on next!
However for today, the garden shed with it’s new-old garden gate and flower-filled window boxes are ready to bring on summer!
Besides, I can’t sit in a hot tub and stare at empty wood shed window boxes now, can I?
Oooo… it’s gonna be a really enjoyable summer staycation this round!
Video – How to create a vertical garden shed sign
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Make these unique DIY backyard garden shed ideas!
Create a vertical outdoor shed sign
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20+ easy ideas to add to your own garden shed!
Read all rustic garden shed posts HERE
It is so nice Donna. I enjoy your descriptions immensely. The thriller/filler/spiller combo. What a catchy phrase. Love your rustic shed, your muse. And the way you cleaned up behind the shed and planted things and the new gate. Well, what’s not to love.
What a beautiful shed! when I saw the stumps in the front, I immediately thought about a vendor at my local Farmer’s Market. He takes stumps and substantial logs and carves the insides out and then fills them with dirt and plants pretty flowers in them. Here’s a link to his pics (I’m not sure if the link will work:
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=753917490068296&set=pcb.753917540068291
Your garden shed always looks like something straight out of a fairy tale. It’s still my fav and I’m looking forward to seeing how the plants fill out. That beautiful, ” always looks like Spring” green of the creeping Jenny and the vibrant red geranium is a match made in planter heaven. Sadly our geranium got some disease and there’s only a little stubb left that I’m hoping bounces back when Spring comes knocking at our door.
Very pretty Donna. I have a big round metal cattle trough swimming pool. Looks like the little metal tub on your cabin front porch. Lasts forever, love it!
Your cabin (much too pretty to call it a shed) is so pretty, you could move in!
Nylene Nevada