How to Plant in Flower Boxes

If you want to add some splashes of color to your yard, flower boxes may do the trick. Add flower boxes to the pool deck, the home and in a other places of interest in the yard. You can buy reasonably-priced flower boxes at home improvement stores like Home Depot or Lowe's, and other garden supply stores.

Things You'll Need

• Flower boxes
• Flowers
• Potting soil
• Trowel
• Gardening gloves
• Water

Instructions

Planting Preparations

1. Identify how many flower boxes you have or want to fill in your yard. Write the number down and take it with you to the nursery when you go to buy your flowers.

2. Note whether the flower boxes are in full sun, partial sun or shade. Keep this information in mind when picking your flowers.

3. Decide what you want your flower boxes to look like before you go to the nursery. Choose whether you want flowers to drape over the sides of the box, what colors you want, and if you want to include decorative grasses in the flower boxes.

4. Pick flowers. While picking them, have at least a general sense of what you want the boxes to look like and how many flowers you'll need. If you're familiar enough with flowers, you could also plan what you want to buy before you go to the nursery.

5. Consider buying some geraniums, calibrachoa, scaevola (blue fan flower), petunias, and impatiens. Of course, there are so many different flowers that you can experiment every year if you like.

Plant the Flower Boxes

1. Collect the tools. Get those gardening gloves, trowels, potting soil, flowers and boxes ready.

2. Fill the flower boxes about halfway with potting soil. The plants will add some soil to the boxes, too. Position the plant so the root ball is slightly below the edge of the box. That way you can put dirt all around and a bit on top to secure the flower.

3. Remove the flowers from their containers for your first flower box. Pull the roots around the bottom of the plant slightly before you plant it to optimize the plant's ability to adapt to its new surroundings.

4. Plan what the box will look like by laying your flowers out in the box before filling in the rest of the soil. When you're satisfied, add potting soil around the plants and press the flowers in gently but firmly.

5. Plant your remaining flowers in the rest of your boxes.

6. Water the boxes. Just be sure not to spray too hard with the hose or else you might traumatize your new transplants!

7. Maintain your new flower boxes regularly, either every day or every other day depending on the weather and how well they're retaining moisture. Otherwise all your hard work will wither and die.

8. Experiment with arranging the flowers. Flower boxes can be a great way to add color to your yard without creating a whole new flowerbed. If you want, you can try different flowers every year and try different arrangements. It's a chance to add some beauty to your yard and get a little creative!

Tips & Warnings

• Be sure to buy potting soil if you do not already have it at home.

• Check out a local grocery store to buy flowers, too. Sometimes you can get the same flowers at a better price than at a nursery. Just make sure the plants look healthy no matter where you buy them.

• When removing the plant, squeeze the bottom of the pot slightly and turn the pot on its side. Try not to pull the plant by its stem.

• Flowers should be semi-dry when you plant them. If they are wet, the dirt around the roots will crumble as you remove them from their pots and make the planting messier and more difficult.

Resources

• Flowerframers.com is a resource for flower boxes and arrangement ideas.
• Gardeners.com has gardening tips and a variety of flower boxes for sale.