Blog — Bay and Box

Wow, it's certainly been a busy few weeks here at Bay and Box HQ! Alongside some fantastic coverage in Stylist magazine, the Sunday Times and Wandsworth magazine, we have run competitions with The English Garden magazine and Gardeners' World online. In addition, we were also delighted to be part of the Old York Road Street Festival on 5 June. Luckily the sun came out just in time and there was a great atmosphere. The Bay and Box stall even got a visit from the Mayor of Wandsworth! Next up is the Northcote Summer Fete on Sunday 10 July - please...

Well, we are certainly melting in the London spring/summer heat this weekend! Hotter then Ibiza apparently! So what better time then to turn our attention to summer proper and the best choices for your Bay and Box window boxes. If you are looking for plants that will stay out for the duration, the longest lasting flowing plants are impatiens (busy lizzies) and geraniums. There are plenty of varieties available with both of these choices, depending on the look you want to go for. For example, the ivy-leaved trailing geraniums give a more Mediterranean look than the more formal looking ones....

We have had a lot of compliments on the photos on our website which were taken by the fantastic Moritz Schmittat. For this particular shoot, we asked Moritz to capture various shots of our products both planted and empty, as well as in situ, to demonstrate the exact fit of our window boxes in terrace and bay windows. We also asked him to show how our outdoor planters can perfectly frame entrances.   We were really happy with the results, especially when one photo appeared in Stylist magazine last week! Apparently the weather is continuing to heat up this week...

Looking beyond flowers and plants, of course you can also create a herb garden using your Bay and Box window box. Chives, mint, parsley, sage and lots of others work really well either as a complete window box or mixed in with other plants. In particular, sage, with its soft leaves is excellent planted in with flowering plants and comes in a variety of colours. To plant your herbs, make sure the box you are using has drainage holes. Bay and Box window boxes come with two drainage holes as standard.  Use a well-drained compost and keep it moist, watering...

This month, we're stepping into the light with a burst of spectacular colour courtesy of Nasturtium Cherry Rose seeds, free with every Bay and Box order! A hardy annual, these seeds live in full sunlight and are even fully edible, the older leaves providing a peppery taste and the flowers sweet and spicy, perfect for salads or even this fishcake recipe. To plant, simply: Select a 'poor,' unfertilized soil for your window box - they flower well on poor, hungry soil and withstand fairly dry conditions. Sow your seeds in your window box around 1.5cm deep and space them around...