More Planting Space for Balcony Gardens

by Suzy

Anyone who does flower gardening, herb gardening or vegetable gardening on their balcony will appreciate the additional planting space provided by window boxes or flower boxes.

In response to a reader’s comment in an earlier post (Balcony / Small Patio = Outdoor Room) about using window boxes on his balcony railing, I thought I’d share some of what I’ve learned about window boxes and what to use for securing them to a railing.

Window Box Gardening

I’d never really given much thought to window boxes until I started researching for this post. One of the sites I discovered while digging around was Hooks & Lattice. Not only did they prove to be an excellent source for railing brackets and window boxes, but they also offer interesting information about the various window boxes available.

Isn’t it amazing what pops up when you google a topic? That’s exactly how I stumbled onto Windowbox - a website that specializes in window boxes and various other types of container gardening. Then of course there is Flower Framers. You’ve heard of the joy of cooking? Yep, you guessed it, Flower Framers is all about the joy of window box gardening.

The first window box picture from above and this one directly below are courtesy of Plow & Hearth. They have a good selection of window boxes, as well as self-watering deck railing planters.

Types of Railing Brackets

The shape and size of the balcony railing will often determine the type of bracket to use. The two bracket examples shown below are from Hooks & Lattice, but I was able to locate similar railing brackets in a few different places.

Railing brackets can accommodate rectangular or round planters. This round planter bracket is from Aubuchon Hardware.

Round planters may work well in certain instances, however, for the balcony gardener who wants to get maximum use from a small outdoor area, I think that a row of rectangular planters would provide more square footage of gardening space. This picture from Flower Framers beautifully illustrates a series of railing-mounted planters.

Plow & Hearth sells a railing bracket which can be used with any rectangular flower box up to 8″ deep. The arms that hook over the balcony railing can be adjusted for a snug fit.

Different bracket designs allow you the option of hanging your planters below the balcony railing, as shown above, or in-line with the balcony railing by using a bracket design like this one below.

The railing adapters from Windowbox won’t win any prizes for looks, but they definitely get my vote for functionality. They are meant to be used in conjunction with their Windsor wall brackets to convert wall mounted window boxes into railing mounted window boxes. I can’t imagine why they couldn’t be used with any metal wall brackets.

Regardless of the type of railing bracket you choose, it’s imperative that the plant-filled window boxes and planters you are placing on the railing brackets do not exceed the manufacturer’s recommended weight limitations.

Books on Window Box Gardening

For the book hounds among us, here are a few titles you might want to check out: