How to grow a window box in your flat

No matter where you live in Barcelona you can have a garden to admire. A simple way to get started especially if you live in a flat or apartment is to create a window box with plants and flowers.

Let’s start with a shopping list of the things you’ll need:

• gloves (optional)
• window box (or a couple of nice pots)
• potting mix (with fertilizer or moisture control granules)
• moss or bark (optional)
• watering can
• flowers & plants
• slow release fertilizer (if it’s not in your potting mix)

Now to creating your window box!

Step 1

Before you rush off to the shop the first thing to consider is the location, it will determine whether you buy plants that like the sun or shade or a bit of both.

The green thumbs out there say that there should be at least one ‘spiller’, one ‘thriller’ and one ‘chiller’ in your arrangement. ‘Spillers’ are plants that grow down like the popular sweet potato vine. ‘Thrillers’ are plants that grow up and will add to your vertical presentation. And ‘chillers’ are things like marigolds which will maintain a certain height once they fill out.

You can get some untreated timber window boxes and paint them a colour to match your home. (remember to measure the window sill or area you will be using). If you prefer to have the freedom to rearrange then buy a couple of nice matching pots to place on your window sill.

Step 2

Armed with your materials you are now ready to plant your window box garden. You can either plant directly into the box, or simply drop the pots into the box and cover them up with moss or bark, or you can choose to have a liner in the box before you place the potting mix in. The last option makes it easy to clean and therefore replant once the plants have passed their prime.

The potting process is the same for any container: cover the drain holes and fill with potting mix, firm the earth around the plant and leave some space (about 3cm) between where the soil ends and the top of the box for watering.

Step 3

Give your window box/garden a week or two to grow and fill out. And pay attention to the tags that come with each plant you buy, keep them stored somewhere so you can reference them for a reminder on how to take care of your beautiful plants.

Succulents are very easy to care for, in fact, you could say they take care of themselves so they are also a great option if you prefer to enjoy a very low maintenance window garden.