Placing plants in windows should be done in accordance with the homeowner's taste and the style of the home. So just a few rules of common sense apply, as do a few tips on the best kinds of plant for achieving the desired effect.

First, you have to choose the right kind of pot, keeping in mind the space that is available. In general, elongated flower boxes work well on the sill of just about any window and allow in a small space allow you to place a larger amount of soil. This is always good for the plants. Meanwhile, round, separate pots allow you to use plants of different heights and they are more convenient if you want to change species regularly.

As for the plants themselves, you have to decide if you want to use seasonal ones, which you will change when the season is over, or prefer something more permanent. Another option is to combine evergreen species, which will create a permanent structure, with perennials that add color at a given time or with seasonal, blooming plants that will be substituted when the season ends. This is probably the easiest option, and the most attractive one.

The arrangement also looks very attractive if you mix compactm, formal-style plants with others that form masses that tend to hang.

Among the seasonal we can recommend are pansies and violas, of various colors. These do well in all kinds of light and last until the hot weather arrives. Primroses prefer shade so it is best to plant them in windows facing north. Daisies stay pretty all winter if the sun shines on them, so they are best in windows facing south or east. In summer, flowers like petunias, surfinias, lobelias, geraniums, gitanillas, gazanias and all kinds of carnations will prefer the sunniest windows in the house while the darkest ones are a good shelter for impatiens. This same postion is good for cyclamens, which bloom in winter but keep their flowers pretty all year.

Among the perennial species we must choose those that do well in opts and do not grow too tall so they don't block light entering the home or hide smaller, prettier species. One of the best is the box plant, although if it is in a sunny spot you have to watch out for two-spotted spider mites.

The shrub called spring bouquet is also very resistant and adapts well to any orientation.�

One species that is particular good for windows facing south is Pittosporum tobira, or Japanese mockorange, the small variety. It grows in masses but does not rich a tall height. Also good is Evonimus pulchellus, a small shrub that prefer sun and has small, gold or silver leaves, depending on the variety. And of course most aromatics are good for this orientation.

Plants facing east are privileged because they get sun in the morning, which is the best, both in winter and summer. So it might not be a bad idea to risk it with plants that a bit more delicate, such as hebes or even camellias (Camelia Sasanqua is more resistent than�Camelia Japonica).

Windows facing west are perhaps the most difficult. In winter they get no sun, but in summer they have to withstand it from noon until the sun goes down. So you must use species that are tough, or vary which species you plant there throughout the year such as geraniums in summer and bulbs in the cold months.