ideas under picture window

[iman]

I am really new to this. I have a picture window at the front facing east, so lots of sunlight in northern Alberta. I want to know what I could plant under the window now that it's end of May, so that I could have a good bloom until winter. Also would I use topsoil for the bed or potting soil? Is it safe also to plant a thin weeping tree so near to the house?

[Lulu]

Hi and welcome to the forum, Iman!

Firstly, you have to prepare your site; what's there right now? If you need a lot of soil, you would want topsoil, usually purchased by the truck or trailer load. Depending what they are selling for topsoil in your area, you may have to add some manure and/or composted material. If you don't need a lot, bags of triple mix would generally be your best choice.

To have constant colour, you'd have to plant a mix of perennials and annuals. Not sure what you mean by a "thin weeping tree", but be careful how close you plant it to the house.

Try to post a picture, of the area, so we can offer you more ideas!

[Grannygardener]

I would never plant a willow of any kind near the house.Their roots are notorious for finding your weeping tile and that's only the beginning of your problems.Whenever planting trees or shrubs near the house always overestimate how big they'll get.My dad tried to pull out an old lilac that had been planted at the corner of his house but wound up having to dig down around the roots to eventually get most of it out. Edie