Here are some garden window pictures I’ve taken over the years, so that you can see the variety of things you can grow one one.
Garden windows are quite an investment, but I think it’s more than worth it. It’s like having a small greenhouse on your wall.
The one we have is in the kitchen and is facing North. However, since you get bright indirect light from all around the plants, and a sliver of direct afternoon light, I would say a north facing garden window will be the equivalent of a decent sized east or west window.
You can also grow low light plant since they can’t get leaf burn, so it’s quite versatile. Also since the light comes from above the plants grow nicely and uniformly, and are displayed nicely, instead of being tilted away from you towards a window.
Over the years my mom and I have grown many plants in this garden window and it’s interesting for me to compile and see all those pictures I’ve taken… These are only a small portions of them. On the right you can see episcia ‘Musica’, some other episcias in the background and a miniature african violet.
Outside of plants that flower year round (what this website is dedicated too), I also collect and grow orchids, mostly miniatures, and exotic fruiting plants :). The picture below is of an Aerangis biloba flowering. Orchids grow very well on garden windows, especially in the kitchen where the humidity will be kept high, and since the window is protruding there will be larger daytime vs nightime temperature difference. That temperature shift seems to be quite essential in inducing flowering in a lot of plants, especially some orchids.
Winter time when the day is short, you can still enjoy your garden window even if covered with a little bit of snow . This is a yellow flowered oncidium (Twinkle “Yellow fantasy’) and it contrasts the evening sky beautifully!
There is a huge variety of plants you can grow..
Hope you enjoyed these garden windows pictures as much as I enjoyed taking them!
🙂
Ceropegia woodii is a gorgeous small-leaved vine, that is commonly called rosary vine, chain of hearts, hearts on a string and so on, due to the heart shape of its cute waxy purplish-silver leaves. I love how this plant looks. It’s a great addition to any house plant collection. The plant is drought tolerant and doesn’t require much attention, it’s relatively easy to propagate, and I’ve used it in different flower arrangements.
on the plant as they are not huge or contrasting to the foliage. They are still fascinating to look at, and either way it’s the leaves that are what makes Ceropgia woodii such a pleasure to grow at home.
The higher the better, though it will grow and flower in part shade just as well. South west and east facing windows are ideal. I’ve grown Ceropegia woodii on a north facing window for a while to see how it does. It still grows well, but the leaves became lighter and spread farther apart on the stems, and the plant flowered less. North facing garden window is fine for this plant, where it gets very bright indirect light all day. If you take it outside in the warmer months make sure you slowly acclimated it to higher light levels to avoid leaf burn. It grows and flowers great at full sun exposure as well.
flower pot with a big dracaena in it (did not even pot it or anything) and a week later I saw the ceropgia growing vigorously under the dracaena.
Sinningia bullata is a fun and unique looking plant to have at home. It’s relatively easy to grow. The flowers are red/orange tubes, whose faces are dotted with darker red dots. What’s unique about this plant though is the white woolliness that covers the under-leaves, newly formed flower buds and flower stems. It’s interesting to look at and fun to touch. The bubbly green leaves make a nice contrast to the flowers, both color and texture wise. The colors are very bright and it’s difficult to take a picture that does this plant a justice.
This plant grows in part shade to shade. It seems to flower better when it has couple of hours of direct sunlight, making east and west windows ideal for it. It grows and flowers great on a north facing garden window, where it gets very bright indirect light all day long as well. Sinningia bullata tends to grow a bit leggy, so although you can easily grow it on a north window, I would not recommend it.
Before your Sinningia bullata reaches blooming size you can easily propagate it through cuttings. However, once you plant starts blooming that becomes very hard. I am currently trying to “re-set” growth by removing blooming stems. I hope after the plant start growing out new shoots I’ll be able to root some cuttings. Once your plant is blooming it will form seeds pots and you can propagate it through seeds as well, though it will take a long time for seedlings to reach blooming size.
Kohleria ‘Peridots Rolo’ is a small kohleria, that stays under 12 ” (unless not enough light is provided, then it will get leggy and possibly taller). This plant flowers profusely (some kohlerias are mostly for foliage and flower less profusely). The pale pink flowers make a wonderful contrast with the darker foliage. If the light is lower the foliage is lighter green and the variagation can be clearly seen.
This kohleria is easy to grow (like all of them), has medium watering requirements. It prefers to have the soil evenly moist, as well as bottom watering (like the african violet). Therefore it grows really well with hygrolon strip through the soil, pulling water up from a container under the plant. If its still in a small pot, a piece of yarn will do the same.
An awesome low light plant to have, that flowers endlessly with gorgeous interesting looking furry flowers. I absolutely love kohlerias! I have tons of them, though not all bloom non-stop, and will be listing other varieties soon. I love Kohleria ‘Peridots rolo’, because it is a smaller kohleria, compact and dense growing, and the the overall look of the plant is balanced and pretty. If you don’t have a kohleria at home, do yourself a favor and get some, you will not regret it. They are some of the easiest plants to grow in the home. In my experience a bit of cooler night temperatures make it flower even more heavily. Other than that there isn’t much to growing these beauties.
This plant can tolerate lower light levels, though how well depends on the particular cultivar. It grows and flowers the best at full sun when grown in the north. I have grown this on a north facing garden window, though a normal north facing window will not be sufficient for flowering. East/west and south facing windows will produce the best results. The plant will get leggy with lower light, flower less and the bract color will be paler. Here is a shrimp plant flowering on a north facing garden window in the winter time.
Justicia bandegeana is quite easy to grow, flowers constantly if enough light is provided, and has quite intriguing flowers. I do take it outside in the summer months where it gets 5-6 hours of direct sun. Be sure to slowly accustom your plant to higher light levels to avoid sunburn. Pruning is important for maintaining shape. The plant tends to grow long leggy stems, and likes to flower at the tips of those, so pruning will not only keep the shape and size of the plant good, but will also help with having more flowers. The shrimp plant is very easy and fun to grow :). I highly recommend it!
Deinostigma tamiana is an extremely cute miniature plant. It flowers most of the year, and if the conditions are right it is never out of bloom. The plant is very tiny, under 3 inches. The flower spike is taller than the plant’s rosette, and the flowers are beautifully displayed. This plant is a gesneriad, an african violet relative, and requires the same culture. This plant does not like excessive heat or cold. The household environment seems to suit it perfectly.
When Deinostigma tamiana forms seeds, it impairs the flowering of the plant and does tend to exhaust itself. Other than that, it’s a heavy blooming plant with cute, beautifully displayed flowers. It’s tiny and easy to grow, and a favorite of mine. Since it’s so easy to propagate, I love adding from it to dish gardens and terrarium gardens. It grows pretty rapidly from seed too, reaching blooming size in several months. I think it might do great potted in other plants pots as well, as a ground cover, if the soil is compatible. Higher humidity and temperature seem to get the flowers a bit discolored. In my experience Deinostigma tamiana likes it cooler, that is under 80°F.
Pavonia multiflora, also called Brazilian
This plant can tolerate a range of light levels. From part shade to full sun. I do take it outside in the summer, and slowly move it from part-shade to full sun where it gets covered with even more flowers. It will grow at low light levels as well, but the leaves will be spaced out more, and it will not flower as profusely. Indoors, you can grow it on a south/east/west window, and even a north window, though you won’t get as many flowers from it. The picture on the right shows a plant grown on a somewhat smaller east facing window, and as you can see it looks great.
Again, this plant doesn’t really have fussy requirements. I grow mine (I have a few of them lol), in general potting mix with small amount of peat moss (it seems to me right to make the soil a bit acidic, since it’s a hibiscus relative), and quite a bit or per-lite for good drainage. General houseplant fertilizer will do. And as with all plants, I would always recommend fertilizing at at least half strength, more often during active growth, and significantly less if the plant is growing slower (such as winter time).
Pavonia multiflora is not as sensitive to pests as other plants, but it’s still somewhat susceptible to mealy bugs, spider mites and scale. If you miss out and have your plant heavily infested, you can always prune it down to an inch from the soil, clear out the top layer of the soil, maybe even re-pot and shake of the old soil, and spray it with the appropriate pesticide. The plant will re-sprout and resume blooming in a couple of months. It is such a fun plant to have, so easy to grow, and I have no idea why it’s not more popular as a house plant. It’s not an aggressive grower either and you can make arrangements or plant other smaller ground cover plants in the same pot.
It’s a cold, but wonderfully sunny day, and despite all the new years partying the night before, I cannot 
help but enjoy a day filled with flowers. It’s one of the best things about having flowering plants! The outside world might be cold and covered with snow, but as long it’s a sunny day, it’s summer to you!
Columnea ‘Melissa’ is an awesome columnea hybrid. There are tons of everblooming columnea hybrids, but this one seems to flower heavily even when it’s a small plant. I got this columnea recently and I couldn’t be happier about it. I love the leaves and I love the flowers which look a lot like columnea ‘lava flow’ (another everblooming hybrid).
listed as summer blooming, but in my experience this plant is not in bloom for maybe only 2-3 months a year, and I’ve had it for years. I tend to leave it outside until late fall, or until all the leaves fall off. Then in a week or two I bring it inside, where it starts growing again. It’s been a month and a half after “wintering” this plant. Although the leaves haven’t fully grown out yet, there are already flowers on it. In facts, it’s covered with juicy sleek buds.
There are of course all the other blooming
Pavonia multiflora, though still a young, small plant, hasn’t been out of flower since it started blooming this summer. I love this plant. The bracts of the flowers are bright red and look like flowers themselves. When the plant blooms, its a beep purple flower that looks like a closed hibiscus flower.