# Help me with indoor window boxes **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 28, 2012, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-with-indoor-window-boxes/617048 "2012-03-28T15:53:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2012, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-with-indoor-window-boxes/617048/1 "2012-03-28T15:53:44Z")
I have a relatively small office, but one entire wall is windows, complete with sills. I have a couple plants in here now (a jade and a spider plant), but last summer I decided what was called for was window boxes. So I bought a couple and then was stumped for what to fill them with. My initial idea was grass, but I’ve tried growing just plain old grass in flowerpots before and it never looks particularly good more than a few weeks after it sprouts. Maybe I’m doing it wrong. Another thought I had was pepper plants. I have several of them at home and they’re nice, cheap greenery with cute little red peppers growing out of them for some color contrast. But, since I have them at home, they won’t be as fun to have here at work. I’d like something different. I’m not interested in typical office plants like Dieffenbachia or that ubiquitous vine plant (I forget the name). I want something interesting and unique, something that _seems_ like an outdoor plant, but indoors. I thought about a very short variety of sunflower, since I adore sunflowers altogether. But I didn’t know how they’d do indoors, or how long they’d last. (The pepper plants have been going nearly a year now.) The window is very sunny from sunrise through about 1 o’clock in the afternoon, then that’s it for direct sunlight for the day. Of course this will get a little longer as summer approaches. The two boxes I have are relatively small, because the sill is fairly narrow. I plan to put them side by side. If I like what I’m doing, I’ll probably buy two more for the other window. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2012, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-with-indoor-window-boxes/617048/2 "2012-03-28T16:42:50Z")
Not enough sun – or room for roots – for sunflowers. You could try impatiens or begonias, both of which are shade plants that will flower all summer, and beyond. (I’ve brought a pot of impatiens in for the winter and kept them going.) Lots of pretty bloom colors and petal types for begonias. Yes, they can handle some direct sun. Or, try ferns. They come in a \*lot \*of different leaf shapes – you could mix them up and have something very cool. That would all be in shades of green, though, which might not be what you want. ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2012, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-with-indoor-window-boxes/617048/3 "2012-03-28T17:57:27Z")
Did the impatiens bloom all winter? I’ve used them a lot outdoors and like how they look. Begonias, however, I see from googling come in a lot more varieties than I thought. They might be a good option. I like the fern idea, but I’m really looking to spend practically nothing on this project. About eight little impatiens plants would probably do me. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2012, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-with-indoor-window-boxes/617048/4 "2012-03-28T18:10:46Z")
Yeah, there are some seriously gorgeous begonia varieties out there. And yes, both impatiens and begonias should bloom year round – not bountifully, perhaps, but they’ll bloom.