My husband just hung a Smith and Hawken window box for me above the garage window. I ended up filling it with boxwood shrubs because I couldn't water it very easily from the ground. They look really good and area easy care.

I live in the DC area and our building won't allow windowboxes! AND we have generous balconies.

I live in an apartment, and while my building has no rules against window boxes, I cant attach anything directly to the building itself.
Does anyone know of a recourse for window boxes that hook on to the windowsill or some other way that I could securely AND temporarily hang a window box without leaving trace?

Unique and beautiful choices, thanks for these! I can't imagine being in the same case as enmnm, here in Europe it seems like everyone who has a balcony has window boxes on them.

You can also just get the planter (i.e. without the window hanger frame) itself, so you can use its practical size for herbs, colorful flowers etc. even if you don't have a balcony. I did this with my strawberry plants, putting two to a planter since they like to have room, and it works great.

I'm sure I could check with my insurance company, but does anyone know if master insurance policies usually have a say about this?

I am sure that the insurance companies have a say. However, the do allow outdoor furniture and satellite dishes. The do not allow one to hang clothes out to dry on the balconies either, for atheistic reasons. (I do it anyway, on the weekends, when no management is around.)

Fraise, I double checked the rules last spring--my lease makes no mention of planters! (I spent a summer in Italy two years ago and positively fell in love with the balconies in Florence and Rome, and the glorious plantings in them.) I am now looking for inexpensive planters.

I'm also looking for options that don't involve drilling into the side of the house for mounting. I'd love to have two window boxes on our ground floor over the front flower bed but my bf (who owns the house) says no drilling. I'm thinking of building a stand to hold the boxes and covering the legs with tall bushes or vines. Has anyone seen any pre-made simple stands for window boxes? All I can find are the ornate iron ones, and that's just not my style.

I recently picked up a black brushed metal window box fby Smith and Hawkins from Target. I wanted to add low maintenance plants and one of the guys at my local nursery suggested geraniums because they can thrive in their existing containers and only need to be watered about once a week.

That was over a month ago and so far so god.

Yes, but what to put in them? I've a north-facing window box and it's very cold & sad.

enmnm -- no hanging laundry out to dry for atheistic reasons? Love it! : )

Oops!

Try...aesthetic!

At least, I guess that's the reason. I mean, I wouldn't think the insurance company would care if a pair of underwear blew off the balcony, unless it hit a windshield of a moving car. Can you read the headlines? ;)

The weird thing is, our leases specify that you can't put of satellite dishes either, but 80% of the units have them. And, I got a newsletter yesterday that says if you do have a dish, you need to get prior approval and have a licensed person install it. So you see, I get the impression that many of the rules are arbitrary. At least, they are not being enforced uniformly.

Unfortunately, I'd be the only resident with a window box...so I am looking for planters. And not for atheistic reasons, either. :)

TannerAdair - Seaside's suggestion for geraniums is great, we've had luck with them planted elsewhere. Also, my sister had impatients in her northfacing window boxes that lasted 4 months with very minimal watering.

I planted rosemary and mint in mine, and the rosemary even made it through the winter.

I plan on having some sweet potato vines trailing over my balcony. I'm not sure if I'll mount the box to the top of the railing, or just set them against the edge-- it depends what I find.

a big objection for landlords about window boxes is the water drainage-- it will stain the building as it runs down, (certain potting soil mixes are notoriously bad). if you're on good terms with your landlord you can try to convince them to change their mind by using cachepot-style window boxes that will collect the water.

I've been dying to plant boxes for the ledges outside my windows, but I'm assuming (though I haven't asked my landlord yet) I wouldn't be able to drill into the building. do I need to worry about the boxes blowing off? I'm on the 4th floor and the ledges are a good 8" deep, sloped slightly away from the window.

my downstairs neighbors (2nd floor, same line as me) have what appear to be freestanding boxes, so I guess our management doesn't care... I just don't want to accidentally club someone with a planter.

I can see how landlords might not want to have to deal with soil and water runoff, but again, those lovely, flower filled balconies in Rome are a few hundred years old and doing fine.

In any event, wind is a definite problem, and I will be affixing the planters to the iron balustrades. How, I am not sure yet.

I hope AT keeps the submission form up for a few months for us high altitude readers as our spring is a good month away and I'd like to submit photos this year of my balcony. Its snowing here today (Denver) and it is April 1st. No joke!

Being the neglectful gardener I am, I think ceramic pots with NO drain-holes, despite the warnings of "drowning" your plants, are great. I give them about a pint or so a week, in one deep soaking, and geraniums and other easy things don't mind a bit, and the soil and the water doesn't run anyplace.

I'd be the only one in my building with a window box, too, but maybe others would get the idea? I haven't spoken with management yet, but I've been looking at some of the window air conditioners and the brackets used for them. I have central air, so I'm not sure how those brackets are attached. But I'm going to pursue this.