If you love houseplants, chances are your windowsills are filled to capacity with pots.
One way to maximize this sunny real estate is by installing a “bookcase” of glass shelves in a deep-set window frame. With plate glass and brackets, you can double, triple or even quadruple your growing surface.
Choosing the best houseplants to grow in this space will depend upon the window’s orientation. Ferns, ivies and shade plants do well facing north, the exposure that usually receives the least light. Variegated foliage plants, which need some light, will thrive in an eastern exposure, with a few hours of sun in the morning.
Houseplants that will flourish in sunny windows facing south or west are succulents, flowering plants that require bright light and some herbs. Southern exposure provides the strongest sun throughout the day.
For specific suggestions, see “Picking the Right Plants,” below.
Installing window shelves
Measure the interior dimensions of your window frame to determine how many shelves you’d like and what size they should be. As you calculate the width of the shelves, leave room for a gap (about 1/4- to 1/2-inch wide) between the back edge of the shelves and the window. The gap is to accommodate a roll-up shade, which can be pulled down to provide insulation at night and during the cold winter months. It will also protect tender plants against hot summer sun.
For each shelf, have 1/4-inch-thick plate glass cut to fit, with its edges ground smooth for safety. (If your window’s width exceeds the standard 28 inches, the plate glass may need to be at least 1/2-inch thick to support the weight of potted plants.)
Use a tape measure and level to determine the positions of the shelves. With 2-inch wood screws, install two stainless-steel corner brackets into the window casing on each side for each shelf.
The shelves will let you simulate different climates in one window. Group heat- or light-sensitive plants on the top shelf so that you can pull the shade partway, protecting them while still providing full exposure to plants on lower shelves.
Picking the right plants
No matter which window you choose, select plants that will thrive in that orientation. Look for these favorites at your local nursery or garden center:
Northern exposure:
American maidenhair fern has feathery foliage and likes indirect light and a humid environment.
Bird’s-nest fern needs its soil to be kept evenly moist for best growth. Its broad, straplike leaves are bright green.
Ivy, an evergreen vine that’s easy to grow, comes in a variety of markings and leaf shapes.
Rabbit’s-foot fern prefers indirect light and high humidity. It has fine, feathery fronds and exposed rhizomes covered with coarse brown hairs.
Trailing velvet plant has purple, silver-veined leaves and produces bright magenta blossoms in winter.
Southern exposure:
Kalanchoe, a succulent, bears rich pink blossoms on silver foliage.
Parsley, rosemary and sage can provide fresh herbs all winter. Parsley requires more moisture than the other two.
Winter jasmine prefers a cool, sunny window in the fall for a good bud set, which is followed by a fragrant white flowering in winter.
Eastern exposure:
African violet, an old-time favorite with many new hybrids, offers a range of flower colors and patterns. It blooms throughout the year.
Begonia includes a huge range of species, leaf shapes, colors and sizes. The fibrous varieties do well in bright, indirect light.
Cape primrose produces purple, pink and white floral clusters year-round and grows best in filtered light.
Goldfish plant will bloom sporadically all year if kept warm in the winter. Its pouched flowers of yellow to orange to deep red resemble tiny fish.
Jewel orchid displays white flowers in late winter. Its leaves are red-bronze to black with coppery veins.
Western exposure:
Flowering maple blossoms yellow, orange, pink or red year-round, with the best blooms occurring spring through autumn.
Peacock plant has broad leaves with distinctive markings in silver, purple and green. For best growth, provide a humid environment.
Walking Iris is characterized by fragrant, blue-and-white, irislike blooms, which appear from late winter to early spring. When the flowers fade, the stems bend to the soil, where they root and begin a new life cycle.
Questions should be addressed to Living, care of The New York Times Syndication Sales Corp., 609 Greenwich St., Sixth Floor, New York, N.Y. 10014-3610. Please include your name and daytime telephone number. Questions can also be sent via e-mail to: living@nytimes.com.
2005 MSLO LLC
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
