How to Make a Window Box – It’s All About Thrillers, Fillers, and Spillers

Wondering How to Make a Window Box?

It’s Simple But Can Change Everything

Window Boxes are one of the easiest and least expensive ways to dress up a window and grow edible plants. A mixture of flowers, vegetables, and herbs can be grown in the same window box as long as they have the same sun and water needs.

These living masterpieces will also improve the curb appeal of your home and add to the value of the property. Window Boxes can be dressed up for holidays when not in use growing plants. Try some of these window box gardening ideas and get started growing this weekend.



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Make a Window Box With Thrillers, Fillers, and Spillers

The first thing that you’ll want to do is pick out what types of plants to include in your arrangement. As a guideline, it’s best to select a thriller, filler and a spiller for your window box.

1. Thrill – vertical growth

Thriller plants are tall plants used for dramatic effects. They should not reach over 10″ at their mature height so that they don’t block the view from inside. Eggplant, dwarf pepper plant, or rainbow chard make good thrillers for vegetable window boxes.

2. Fill – blanket the bottom

Filler plants add bulk to the display and cover the soil. If you’re putting together a floral presentation, then pansies, impatiens, and verbena are great filler options.

3. Spill – flowing over the side of the box

Spiller plants cascade over the side. Ivy, petunia, and licorice vine are good examples of spillers.

Using the three-plant formula

The “Thriller + Filler + Spiller = Ideal Window Box” formula applies to both vegetables and florals.

For example, you could start with some rainbow chard. Then, add some dwarf peas or cucumber plants, and then tuck in your favorite herb to cover the rest of the available soil. You’ve just created a food-producing window box.

Salvia, lavender, snapdragons, and geranium are good thrillers for a flower window box. Petunia makes an excellent spiller plant and then use pansies, impatiens, or verbena for fillers.

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Thriller
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Filler
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Spiller

Planting Your Window Box

To put your window box together, you’ll first gather up all of your materials, including your thrillers, fillers, and spillers.

Then, to make a window box, you’ll start the process by placing a layer of newspaper at the bottom of the container. That will help to prevent planting soil from washing through the drainage holes. Fill the box two-thirds full with potting soil mix, and then mix in slow-release fertilizer pellets and/or organic plant food.

Things Could Get a Little Messy

After you’ve eyeballed your design like a master floral arranger, you’ll either plant the seeds into the soil or remove plants from containers and tuck the root bottoms close together. Add more soil around the base of each plant until roots are covered. Then gently firm the soil with fingertips. Water well.

Your plants can be left in their original containers or transplanted into larger pots that will fit into the planter box.

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Using Window Boxes for Holiday Decor

It’s fun to change window boxes with the seasons, so something colorful will be in them all year round. Place a pot of chrysanthemums and mini pumpkins in the window box for fall decor.

Decorate the boxes for Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Easter, and all other holidays. When nothing else is in the window box, use it as a bird feeder for passing birds. Simple DIY bird feeders can be created with pine cones, peanut butter, and birdseed that will keep the birds well fed during the winter months when their natural food sources are scarce.



How To Make a Window Box and Find Other New Things to Do

If you’re looking for a simple and inexpensive way to change a room or give the exterior of your home or apartment a facelift, a Window Box may be just the thing! You can create them in any size and use a wide variety of plants, as long as they don’t get out of hand and block the view through your window.

Here at OTL City Guides, we love to share all kinds of things to do and things to learn. So, we hope you return often and also check out OTL Seat Fillers. When you’re looking for something to do, is anything better than free show tickets?