Herbs are a natural for a window ledge. With a window box to frame your view, all you have to do is reach out and pinch a bit of basil or nip a few nasturtium blossoms to add color and flavor for your salad. The view from the other side is almost as nice, for herbs and herbal flowers give your house a look of comfortable friendliness. If you start your boxes with sturdy transplants, they'll be lush and full in no time. Here are some fruitful combinations to inspire you:

• A Salad Box: dill, parsley, cilantro, arugula, chives, with nasturtiums and carnations
• A Souper Box: sage, thyme, basil, marjoram, bay laurel, oregano, with calendula and a dwarf chile pepper plant for a touch of color
• A Box of Sweets: lavender, scented geraniums (lemon, rose, peppermint), strawberry plants, licorice plant, with johnny-jump-ups and miniature roses
• A Bloomin' Butterfly Box: lemon thyme, common thyme, marjoram, sedum ('Ruby Glow' is lovely), dwarf
• Mexican bush sage, marigold, oxe-eye daisy, bee balm, verbena, sweet william.
• A Medicine Box: sage, thyme, catnip, feverfew, lavender, mint, garlic, horehound, with passionflower, calendula.