Kristin's lovely pictures of herb-filled window boxes in London brought up some comments about strangers stealing herbs or, worse, um, "watering" them. And yet we love the idea of planting a small herb garden and hanging it out the window — especially since we live in a high-rise building with no fire escape.

Then we remembered a man in our former building who hung his window boxes on interior windows that only his neighbors could see...

These windows faced a courtyard (read: concrete patio), and the 17 stories encircling it were a lot like those in the movie "Rear Window." As is typical with close-quartered New Yorkers, we could watch each other having dinner parties and changing channels.

We always loved that our neighbor's pink impatiens brightened an otherwise dreary view, and they felt special because only the neighbors knew about them.

Now we're inspired to hang a window box filled with herbs out of our interior windows. They will be easier to water and safe from predators, and they might help us meet a fellow cook across the hall.

Hey, high-rise dwellers: Anyone planning a window box of herbs or vegetables?

Related: City Gardening: How Do You Deal With the Mess?

(Images: Flickr member SnapshotsUnmade, licensed for use under Creative Commons; Kristin Hohenadel)