Flower Box Awards: Brittany's First Try

Our 11th award of 2007!

Owner: Brittany
Location: Portland

In Brittany's words:

Hi there, This built-in flowerbox is on my front mini-porch. I know I'm super lucky to have it, but this is actually my first year successfully picking something that deals with the shade. I chose two different varieties of coleus. They won't last past fall and I have no clue what to do with the space over winter, so if anyone has great ideas, I'd love to hear them.

Thanks, Brittany (brittanykate on AT)...

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To All Flower Box Awards

Dear Brittany,

We like the fact that you are beginning to find appropriate plants for the light and trying to think of the space in terms of the entire year. Now that coleus was a success we cannot wait to see what you do next year! Thank you for asking the AT community about what to do until spring. Maybe some of our Portland readers who know the climate will have good suggestions for your planter. The sky's the limit, but here are a few quick ideas:

Something trailing, like vinca or ivy would go well with the coleus and brighten the dark space, and would also come back every year.

Planting some iris or crocus in the fall in preparation for spring - and mulching.

Take a visit to a local Botanical Garden to ask advice and see how they plant for the seasons.

We have a little gift in the mail to you: a pot from Ecoforms and seed packets from SelectSeeds.com to help make your gardens grow. Enjoy!

Best,
matt at apartmenttherapy dot com

Comments (6)

I have planted ornamental kale and fall pansies in October and the sum was much greater than the parts. The combo looked great until it got hot again in June and the kale bolted. I cut it back and actually got a second year out of it! Kale is usually available in quart containers and pansies in 4" pots in the fall, but they are investment that could look good for months, and months, and months. If there is enough sun, anyway--and that may vary by time of year.

Find some small branches that have been pruned or broken off a tree or bush. When the coleus dies, stick the branches into the soil and then for Halloween you can hang spiders etc. and for Christmas trim of your choice. Next year, ditch the sticks and plant away.

Hello Brilliant ATers,
Brittany's garden is lovely, and I especially love her white metal chairs. These are ubiquitous where I live and I'm wondering if anyone knows the origin or an early/original manufacturer of these chairs. I know they're common and mass-produced and even newly offered on the market in one catalog (was is Smith and Hawken?), but I want to know more about their origin and how they came to be on everyone's porches.

Anyone?

For Autumn, pots of mums. Don't bother putting them in the soil. Branches or dried botanicals in the winter are also interesting.

If the suggestion of Iris meant German Bearded Iris, they won't bloom unless you plant them darn soon. If Dutch or Siberian Iris are suggested then they can be planted in the fall.

My guess is that pansies would thrive in Portland all winter.

Wow! I too have built-in flower boxes, but living in Colorado, nothing will grow in the winter. We fill them with pine-cones collected on our hikes in the Rocky Mountains. It's also fun to fill them with a few branches, especially if there are unique dried berries or hips on them.

Thanks for all of the great ideas. I think I'll try at least one of them.

Brandy: I found my chairs used, but I came across candybouncer.com, which sells cute reproductions, despite the name sounding like porn.