apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

We have three utility boxes behind our condo. My husband painted the two metal ones dark green and we grow morning glories around them every year. It makes them blend in.

What a good idea Jeanne!

do those plants attract a lot of bees?

We can't plant anything around our electric meter, because it's read by satellite. The elec coop sent around a letter asking everyone to make sure nothing was blocking the meters, and since it saves gas and is more accurate, I think it's a good reason to sacrifice style.

That said, I really like these painted boxes. I wish I could put something around my phone box to protect it -- it keeps getting hit by lightning! It either knocks out the DSL or the phone, but never both at once.

The plumbago, shown in the first photo, has thorns, which makes it a not so great choice. And if the DWP worker has trouble accessing the box, he or she is authorized to hack away. Jeanne's morning glories and paint seem a less difficult solution.

Dude, I see itchy nasty plants whose name is escaping me right now *headdesk* I feel bad for the person working for the utility that has to climb through it to do their job.

We're prohibited from planting anything that will block a worker from doing their job, especially if it causes harm. So there is nothing allowed on or at the base of mailboxes or where meters may be read. Flowers attract stinging insects, ivy attracts spiders, and bushes attract ground animals that can dig holes.

Would YOU like to work crushed in at a desk surrounded by vegetation you're possibly allergic to and could cause injury? Why make someone else do so? For the sake of aesthetics? Please.

A suggested compromise (and now that I'm thinking about it, might try this myself):

Plant a climbing plant over a trellis to obscure the boxes while keeping the plantings far enough back so that access isn't blocked. I also like this idea for masking A/C units and trash bins.

Those oleanders are pretty toxic--I wouldn't want to brush up against them! It's weird, but I sort of love my electrical box, probably because my wonderful electrician redid the whole system (had never seen the old one before) and it's one thing in this old house I know I can trust.

To clarify, the utility boxes in question don't involve meters. We live in a condo complex and we have two cable tv installations and one installation in our back privacy area. Our electric meters are on the side of the building and are quite visible and ugly. We only bothered with these boxes because they were in the middle of our garden. The morning glories attract bees etc but so do the lilies, the nasturiums, and the humming bird feeder. THe last time a cable guy had to get to the box, we just ripped the morning glories down. We have lived there 6 years and only had to rip the flowers out once for service.

As others have said, this isn't allowed in many places and can be quite a hassle for workers to get around. My alternate suggestion is to pot those plant in containers that can be moved out of the way when necessary.