Beautify your front yard with flower boxes. These picks fit below windows, along walkways and more.
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11 Flower Boxes That Add Curb Appeal to Your Home
If you’re looking for a relatively simple way to spruce up your home’s appearance, a flower box is an easy way to add more color to your yard without digging up the ground. Flower boxes can hang from deck railings, line walkways or dress up front steps.
These versatile pieces of outdoor décor come in many shapes, sizes and finishes to suit any home. And they’re a lot easier to add than, say, doing a full landscaping remodel or full repaint. You might find that the pop of natural colors is enough to give your home the appearance of a larger makeover. To that end, here are some of the most stylish flower boxes to boost your home’s curb appeal.
via potterybarn.com
Best Flower Box Set
Pottery Barn Concrete Flower Box Set
This concrete flower box set includes a traditional trough planter and four round pots. Purchase them individually or as a mixed and matched group to get the perfect number for your yard. Fluted sides give these planters some visual interest while neutral colors allow your bright flowers to pop. They also come in gray and terra cotta.
via grandinroad.com
Best Window Flower Box
Grandin Road Stainless Steel Window Box
Window boxes enhance the view from your window and from the curb. This gorgeous stainless steel window box comes in three sizes and two striking finishes: copper and graphite. Your floral arrangement will greet you through the window in the morning and walking up the driveway in the evening.
via homedepot.com
Railing Flower Box
White Resin Window Box Rail Planter
A plain flower box looks sleek on a deck or balcony railing. This white resin rail planter fits right over the top of the railing, making efficient use of otherwise wasted space. It’s an inexpensive and durable choice.
And at the end of the growing season, it’s easy to clean. Just give it a rinse with the garden hose and stash it with the rest of your patio storage.
via amazon.com
Most Decorative Flower Box
Wood Wagon Flower Planter
This wagon planter looks charming with or without flowers. It would even make a cute fairy garden. It’s small enough to fit on a front patio yet large enough to be a mixed flower container. Its stained wood and metal accents fit in with other antique-inspired decorations.
via wayfair.com
Best Farmhouse Flower Box
Siena Wood Planter Box
Weathered wood and X-shaped details give this square flower box farmhouse vibes. The barn door-inspired design is perfect for a fall flower display. It comes in three sizes so you can fit one anywhere, whether by the front door or alongside the front steps.
via amazon.com
Rustic Flower Box
Recycled Wood Rectangular Garden Planter
This large, rectangular flower box fits plenty of plants. It’s rustic yet durable, with a recycled wood body and powder-coated steel legs. The included soil liner prevents spillage. A few of these planters would look good lining a driveway or pushed against the edge of a front porch.
via wayfair.com
Modern Flower Box
Raised Flower Bed Gabion Basket
If you like the rectangular shape and ground placement but prefer modern styles, the Delvale Planter Box is a good choice. The mesh grid is designed to be filled with stones or gravel of your choice. It’s an easy way to personalize a planter that matches any other type of stone in your landscaping.
via wayfair.com
Traditional Flower Box
Araluen Wood Planter Box
The Araluen Wood Planter Box is simple, traditional and affordable. Its timeless appearance looks at home with any flower arrangement, from fall mums to spring-blooming bulbs.
A water-based stain lets the cedar’s beautiful natural grain show through. Try filling it with hummingbird flowers and placing it along the edge of a porch where you can watch the jewel-toned visitors.
via homedepot.com
Tiered Flower Box
Wooden 2-Tier Planter Box
Compact entryways and patios often lack space for greenery. This tiered flower box is a handsome solution. Taking advantage of vertical space allows you to incorporate more color into your outdoor décor. Tiered planters like this one are also ideal for growing strawberries and herbs.
via etsy.com
House Number Flower Box
Planter Box Address Sign
Planting flowers at the end of the driveway adds tons of curb appeal with minimal effort. A flower box makes it even easier. This chic house number planter from Etsy is eye-catching yet minimalist. First-time guests will find your home with ease.
via amazon.com
Best Flower Box for Privacy
Yardistry Cedar Planter Privacy Screen
If you prefer more seclusion in your yard without sacrificing aesthetics, a privacy screen with built-in flower boxes offers the best of both worlds.
Wooden slats allow climbing plants to flourish, while medium-sized flower boxes fit plenty of colorful blooms. The hinges allow you to stretch out the privacy screen or fold it up to meet the needs of any space.
What to Look for in a Flower Box
Here are some of the deciding factors you should consider when shopping for a flower box:
Depth
If you want a variety of flowers and want them to thrive, we recommend getting a flower box with a depth no smaller than eight inches. This will let the roots dig in and give your flowers the best chance of survival in a flower box.
Size
This factor comes in two parts. First, you want to ensure the inside of your flower box is big enough to support the number of plants you want. Yes, that includes the depth (as mentioned above) and the lateral space. Plants need a specific amount of space around them to survive; this is no exception. Second, you must ensure the box you choose is the appropriate size for its location. A too-wide box might not fit under your narrow windows and vice versa. Always measure before buying.
Maintenance
For the most part, you won’t have to worry about too much maintenance with a flower box, as they are isolated from the soil. You will, however, have to water your plants (and sometimes feed the soil) to keep your flowers happy and healthy. And if any of them die, you’ll have to dig them out and start over. Furthermore, your chosen plants may require more (or less maintenance). If you really want to be hands-off, stick with low-maintenance flowers, but remember that they’ll still need some attention.
Style
This comes down more to personal preference than anything, but you should probably cater the style of your flower boxes to your home. If you have a thoroughly modern home but choose a flower box that looks like it was pulled off a colonial, it may stick out like a sore thumb. Just make sure you’re keeping this in mind as you shop.
Mobility/Growing Conditions
Some plants benefit from direct light, while others thrive in indirect light. Make sure the place where you want to put your flower box gets enough sunlight for whatever plants you place in it. And barring that, make sure you can move your flower box occasionally to give your plants the conditions they need. This becomes even more vital in the colder months of the year when the sun spends the least amount of time in the sky.
How We Found the Best Flower Boxes
For this guide, I started with a top-down approach, starting with sweeping research to discover the wide array of flower boxes available for purchase right now. Then, I narrowed my search by parsing the options into a list of types of flower boxes. Following that, I compared the available options, paying special attention to the flower boxes’ overall quality, style, versatility, consumer reviews, etc. The resulting list, I believe, is an accurate representation of the best currently on the market, suiting a variety of styles, options, budgets and more.
Why You Should Trust Us
I am an assistant editor for Family Handyman with years of experience writing shopping content focusing on indoor and outdoor gardening, organization, and décor. That career stems from a personal passion for the same subjects. My combination of personal and professional experience and my passion for all things gardening makes me qualified to speak on flower boxes for your home.
FAQ
Are flower boxes hard to maintain?
Generally, they’re not that difficult to maintain. However, it’s important to note that they can dry out faster than traditional flower beds (a product of being separated from the ground soil). As such, they may require more frequent watering, perhaps even daily.
How deep do flower boxes need to be?
We recommend flower boxes that are at least eight inches deep to suit a variety of flowers and give their roots enough room to thrive.
Do you need to line a flower box?
Not necessarily. Some boxes are designed to have soil poured directly into them. However, those with wide wooden slats might have wide enough gaps that soil can fall through; these types may benefit from liners.
What do you line flower boxes with?
You can line flower boxes with plastic, landscape fabric, pond liner or geotextile fabric.
What are the disadvantages of window boxes?
Unfortunately, flowers are often a draw for pests, specifically insects. If you have a screen over your window, this shouldn’t cause you too much grief, but you may see an increase in insects near your flower boxes.
