Window Planter, anyone?

[radhak]

With time on hand and nothing much to do, the stars have aligned for me to get back into woodworking. And of course the first project should be something for the wife. So I am planning a window planter, for her to plant some flowers.

I am thinking it should span the width of the window, 48", and have a height of 8" and depth of 6". With a total volume of about 1.5 cubic feet, the internet says it will weigh around 120 pounds with wet soil in it. Is that too heavy for a window decoration? Should I rethink the dimensions? There is no ledge for it to rest on, I'll have to secure it hanging to the wall, and any bracket under it will have to be unobtrusive as it is at the front of the house and our HOA is rather nitpicky about it.

And since it is the front yard, HOA says it should be painted to 'merge' with the wall. Which means I can go cheap and get treated wood instead of Cedar. It seems untreated is pretty safe nowadays, even for planting vegetables.

Also, it will need holes in the bottom for drainage, but I want to avoid mud streaks on the wall, as this window overlooks the front yard. How can I ensure water drops directly to the bed below and not the wall behind?

Any thoughts or comments?

[capncarl]

There is a reason you don’t see window boxes on houses. I think you listed all of the stumbling blocks.
Planter boxes on the patio are much easier to manage.

[radhak]

Words of wisdom, Cap! Maybe I should take a second look at that and find another place to accommodate the planter...

thx!

There is a reason you don’t see window boxes on houses. I think you listed all of the stumbling blocks.
Planter boxes on the patio are much easier to manage.

[LCHIEN]

I made some window box-like things, but as capncarl says, "There is a reason you don’t see window boxes on houses. I think you listed all of the stumbling blocks.
Planter boxes on the patio are much easier to manage."

So here's my take:
It's really two pieces, one base and one planter. I found some suitable long boxes at Home depot and built the box so that the lip would hang over the top rails and the bottom of the box would be supported by the base.and not sag under the weight. So there is no wood contact with the soil which eventually destroyed the previous generation. These are probably 4 years old and never had a finish... Box from Picket fence cedar and pressure treated pine. The base from PT Pine and some salvaged PT 4x4s from fence posts.

The plastic box can be bought at home depot 12 x 27"

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Dynamic-...dalType=drawer

They have a 7.7" x 24 and 7.7" x 36 planter boxes but the wife said they were too narrow.
As for drainage, I drilled several 1/4" holes in the lowest parts of the plastic box. The base is open except for cross supports for the box and the base is an open frame. on some notched 4x4.

P.S. found the original post https://www.sawdustzone.org/forum/di...-planter-boxes

[radhak]

Thanks Loring! Thats a good idea, and your planters are great inspiration. I am now realigning to making it an elevated garden-bed style of a planter, similar to yours.