There will always be a place in my heart for a cottage. How satisfying to stop in front of a picket fence with a gate that opens under an arbor covered by rambling roses. Ahead is a small home with smoke rising from a chimney. Shutters and window boxes frame the windows and rocking chairs wait on the front porch. SIGH
I love the myriad window boxes in Carmel. They add their welcoming touch to both homes and business. Let me show you some of my favorites, because even if one does not live in a cottage, one can have a window box. They add a bit of “soul”.
I love the way ”Curtain Call” paints the box to match the trim and plants it for spring with
Tulips
Primrose
And Sweet Alyssum
Many simply overflow with geraniums – more correctly referred to as Pelargonium. Although annuals in my native Kansas, in Carmel the temperate climate encourages year round bloom.
“Sea Beauty”
”Casa de Suenos”
Boxes contain stocky Pelargonium hortoum with large double flowers.
Whittakers
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But more often hold Pelargonium peltatum with their ivy shaped leaves and spreading, trailing or climbing habit. These “Ivy Geraniums” adore the cooler temperatures of Carmel . They dislike my Kansas City climate when it gets above 85 degrees.
“Meredith’s Linens and Such”
I like this idea of building a shelf beneath the window on which to put the potted plants.
“Hearts and Flowers”
This gardener mixes geranium with fuchsia in rich colors.
Here is a creative mix of geranium
Johnny-Jump-Up
Million Bells
New Guinea Impatiens,
And white Petunias
Not to mention a “lawn” of Chilean Lily.
“Songbird” sports a box full of small,delicate, pastel blooms
Diascia
Lobelia
And Bacopa
A nearby neighbor also uses Lobelia but pairs it with petunia and uses bold color both on her house and in her pots beneath.
“The Irish Rose” just blows me away with this asymmetrical look. Charming.
Cyclamen is another cool weather favorite here.
The Cottage Of Sweets
replaces it in the summer with this riot of
Petunia
New Guinea Impatiens
And melampoduim.
“Chez Joy” faces toward the sun and uses sun-loving
Million Bells
And white Bacopa.
Three of my favorite window boxes are at the house I have named Twisted Oak
Chinese Lantern
Golden edged Ivy
Swedish Ivy
Begonia and wispy fern
Are artistically combined.
“Ocean’s End” gets fabulous results with the humble petunia.
“Sunwise Turn Cottage” chooses orange Impatiens used “en masse”
Above a planting of Crocosmia
Beneath the kitchen window
Variegated Geranium
And melampodium
Mix well.
On Mission Lane planters
overflow with begonia
And beneath the windows of The Grill On Ocean , geranium mix with
Pencil plant
And “Purple Queen” Aeonium.
Ok ,I really have to stop now. But I hope you got some good ideas to add a little “soul” to your cottage.
Filed under: Carmel, Carmel Window Boxes, Fairytale Cottages in Carmel Tagged: aeonium, bacopa, begonia, Carmel, Carmel-by-the Sea, Casa de Suenos, Chez Joy, Chilean Lily, Chinese Lantern, Cottage of Sweets, crocosmia, Curtain Call, cyclamen, diascia, fairytale cottages, fuchsia, geranium, golden edged ivy, Hearts and Flowers, Irish Rose, Ivy Geranium, johnny-jump-ups, lobelia, melampodium, Meredith's Linens and Such, million bells, Mission Lane, New Guinea Impatiens, Ocean's End, pelargonium, pencil plant, petunia, primrose, Rose Cottage, Sea Beauty, Songbird, Sunwise Turn, swedish ivy, sweet alyssum, The Grill on Ocean, tulips, variegated geranium, Whittakers, window boxes
