Bring Outdoor Window Boxes Indoors

Garden designer Linda Plato brings the great indoors inside...

Garden designer Linda Plato presents an idea for bringing outdoor sheen to the indoor scene. "I love my office but after a dark Northwest winter, I need some plants to cheer the place up," she says. "And not just one plant, but lots of plants."

She has lots of houseplants scattered around the office, along with season color. "Obviously, this window is a major focal point in the office, but it's also a great place to grow plants because of all the sunshine pouring in. Instead of putting one on the outside, I thought I'd put one on the inside."

Figure A

Indoor window boxes aren't much different than outdoor window boxes--except that materials like wicker or wire (figure A) don't have to be weatherproofed. Keeping plants in their original pots means that you can easily change the look of the window box.

Figure B

Just mount the window box to the wall using brackets or hollow wall anchors strong enough to hold the weight of the windowbox and its contents (figure B). After that, everything that goes into the container is lightweight--even store-bought plants potted with logs of perlite in the soil.

Before the plants go in, you'll need a few simple things.

Figure F

Instead of bright and bold, this little landscape (figure F) is soft and serene. Linda uses a combination of traditional houseplants and seasonal favorites she bought at the nursery. When these start to fade at season's end, she'll simply switch them out for whatever suits her fancy at that point.

Indoor plants dry out quickly so keep them watered, but don't overwater because that can lead to pests, diseases and too much weight on your window box.

Try a window box in the bathroom, too--whether or not there's a window. Many plants, like ferns, will love the humidity.