I have spent an inordinate amount of time in my life, imagining my dream house. My list is really quite detailed, and I have loved asking my instagram followers for the things on their dream list. I appreciated all the comments that involved less obvious things like plants, window seats, books and sheds!
One of the things on my list was having tumbling red geraniums bursting out of my window boxes. I have just always loved them, I think since seeing them on holidays in France, Venice and Croatia when I was younger.
We moved, entirely unexpectedly, to a dream home in December. (We were all settled in our little house but the opportunity was too good to pass up as it had space for workshops and a room we could use for a studio space!) The garden had been well planted by the person who used to live in this house, but had gotten a bit overgrown. We have loved caring for our garden so far, and planning what we are going to add. I also knew that this would be the house I finally got my sh*t together and actually planted my dream Geranium window boxes. I have tried window boxes many times in the past but they have failed- mostly because I have bought cheap plants, or forgot to water them! So the dream house called for the dream window boxes.
I worked with calliope Geraniums for this post, and I am pretty chuffed about it. Their flowers are grown in the UK (a big tick, especially during British Flowers Week!) and are really hardy. They come in the most gorgeous vibrant colours. I ended up with a bit of red and orange, and I love it. They do different colours and varieties, including cascading, if you like them to tumble down. I planted them last month and I have absolutely loved monitoring them and watching them grow. They look so gorgeous in the front of our house, and they are so bright that we spot them from the end of our street! They will continue to grow and fill the window boxes, and I’ll try to remember to instagram another pic later in the summer when they are even fuller.
Geranium planting window box tips:
- Make sure your window boxes are well drained. These metal planters were lurking in the garden when we moved in, and had already been drilled a few times in the bottom.
- Attach them securely. We have also used garden wire to wrap around the top of the planter a few times, and attach them to a screw in the window frame.
- Use a good quality, peat free multi purpose compost.
- Before planting them, release the roots a little first.
- Keep the soil moist. We keep a full jug of water by the front door to encourage us to water them, refilling it as soon as we have emptied it.
- Position in full or partial sun.
- Cut off spent flowers to encourage more growth.
When I originally talked about my dream of red geranium window boxes, I sort of thought I might be espousing something that some might find a bit twee. And then the following day, a follower alerted me to the fact Red Geraniums were in The Time’s ‘Whats Hot’ list! So I am feeling very on trend right now! What do you think about red geraniums?! Are you a yay or a nay?! and- you knew I was going to ask this- but tell me, whats on your list?! What sort of home would you like? What sort of garden?
They are available in loads of DIY shops and garden centres.
This is a collaborative post with Calliope Geraniums.
P.S Thanks for the love on my study/studio space blog post, I am aiming to share each room of the new house once it’s ready!