Question
Hi, Rick.

I am not a very good gardener, but I'm trying.  My husband made windowboxes for me, and I'm trying to figure out what flowers to plant in there for the spring/summer.

We live in the Midwest. The boxes will be on the side of our house that faces west and get the full, hot afternoon sun in the summer (temps soar up to 90+ degrees in August). What do you recommend planting? Also, I was leaning toward keeping things in individual containers and setting them in the windowbox so they can be swapped in an out. Any thoughts on that? I would like the boxes to be pretty and full. Thanks for your help!

- Heather

Answer
heather
i'm in southern NJ.
planning is the key. choose plants that will grow in the   full sun(most of the flowering annuals-marigolds, geraniums, petunias, etc.).
get to the library/garden center and read some books on landscape design(homeowner type). watch HGTV landscaping shows on sat and sun before 12 noon.
visit a few local garden centers/nurseries to find someone knowledgeable on container plants. buy your products from them & they should be glad to help you design and educate you on how to install and maintain the plants. ask them to name the appropriate size & type plants for the containers you want to plant up. they will recommend soil amendments and other products(mulch, fertilizer, etc.) to help you be successful.
putting pots in the window boxes to exchange plants is a great idea. you can water them corectly by weight. pick up(or lean) the pots. they should feel heavy. don't water again until they feel considerably lighter in weight(usually about once every 2-5 days depending on pot size, sunlite, temps, etc.). do not let them go too dry(wilt). apply fertilizer monthly during the growing season.  
good luck
rick
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