QUESTION: I have two window boxes on the front of our new home, and both get mid-to-late afternoon sunlight. I do not have a green thumb, but would like to plant them. Both are long boxes, 4 and 6 feet, and about 9 inches wide and 9 inches deep, with drainage holes. Do you have suggestions of something easy to grow?ANSWER: That is a hot spot which requires plants capable of standing up to summer heat and soil prepared to hold moisture.Divide your plant choices into two types: upright and cascading. This will make maximum use of your window box space and provide the variety that will make it look interesting and larger.The cascading plants will go at the edges of the boxes, their stems trailing over front and sides. Many good choices exist: among flowering plants, there are lantanas, verbenas, narrow-leaf zinnias and trailing petunias, each available in a wide range of colors to choose from. Though not strictly a trailing plant, scaevola looks good at the edge of boxes and other container gardens.Some of these also come in upright forms, so look at the plant tags for information about height and spread.Among the trailing foliage plants, I think the best plant is the sweet-potato vine named Margarita. The foliage is bright chartreuse.Before you choose your upright plants, decide the height you want them to reach at maturity. It's nice to see them through the window, but you don't want them to block your view from indoors. Torenia makes a nice mound, 6 to 10 inches tall; vertical petunias such as Supertunia Minis tend to grow 6 to 12 inches tall.Use fresh, package potting soil in your boxes. Adding a product called Soil Moist will help the soil remain damp because the Soil Moist granules expand as they absorb moisture and release it gradually as the soil dries. It is a very helpful product for containers, especially ones in the hot exposure you've got.

They've been hanging around your house for several months now, but it's time to do something with those paperwhite narcissus and amaryllis plants.These plants grow from bulbs that are hardy enough to stand life outdoors in the Carolina Piedmont and should produce new flowers in coming years.Both require sunny, well-drained locations in your flower bed or between shrubs. If they are growing in bowls or vases of water, just pull them up and shake off any pebbles used to keep them stable. If they are growing in soil, lift the bulbs out of their pots outdoors and shake off the excess soil.Replant both kinds of bulbs so the top of the bulb, where leaves emerge, is slightly below ground level. Space them at least 2 inches apart. Water well to keep the foliage as green as possible through the spring, but it will die back eventually.Fertilize them every week with a balanced, liquid fertilizer to encourage development of buds for next year's blooms. Planted outdoors, the paperwhites should bloom in April, the amaryllis, in May or June.