Ideas for Shade Flowers in Window Boxes

Begonias add rich color to shady window boxes.

Shaded window boxes offer many options for colorful blooms. A shady spot is often the best choice for a window box, because most boxes are shallow and dry out quickly in heat and sun. Annual flowers planted in a shady window box will require less water and deadheading.

Impatiens

Often the first choice for a shady spot, annual impatiens offer a wide range of color for window boxes. They look good alone, spilling over the edge of the box, or mixed with more upright shade-lovers, such as black mondo grass, Liriope or Deschampsia. Impatiens come in red, white, purple, pink, coral and bi-colors.

Pansies

The members of the Viola genus prefer shady environments, so pansies are a natural. They like it cool, so they won't thrive in a sunny window box. Their color range is extensive -- from red, purple, orange, blue, yellow, white and pink to many bi-colors and tri-colors. Mix them with shade-loving trailers such as creeping Jenny or periwinkle.

Begonias

Begonia corms can be planted in small pots and set into window boxes when they begin to grow in spring. Their large, multi-petalled blooms are a boon to shady window boxes, and they are drought-tolerant as well. Mix begonias with trailers such as Kenilworth ivy or Glechoma. Tubers can be saved by lifting and storing indoors over winter.

Amethyst Violet

Small purple or white flowers cover Browallia speciosa, also known as bush violet, as it spills over the sides of a window box to about 10 inches. Mix it with more upright annuals, such as New Guinea impatiens or coleus.

References

• Iowa State University Extension; Annuals for Shade; Cindy Haynes; June 2003
• University of Missouri Extension; Annuals for Shade; Pat Lawson
• "Fine Gardening": Genus Browallia