Forget marigolds and busy lizzies: how to give your window

Create the perfect ‘little garden’ by planting something a bit different on your ledge

The window box could be considered the last bastion of the bedding plant. Public parks are at last relinquishing their impermanent blocks of double marigold and begonia in favour of perennial informality, yet the window box has seemingly escaped reform, hunkered on inaccessible ledges clutching armfuls of petunia.

Of course, there is good reason for this. With their shallow soil depth and exposed positions, window boxes require robust, low-maintenance plants, and traditional summer bedding has long fitted the bill. But these planters, however compact, are an opportunity for dynamic planting. They are rewarding spaces to garden in, particularly if you don’t have any outdoor space, and can provide a vital resource for wildlife.