Thursday, May 26, 2011

DIY Outdoor Decor: Simple Container Garden tips

I'm such a beginner when it comes to planting & gardening, but it's such a fun & simple way to add some pop, color & pizzaz to your outside spaces.

I figured, it'd be fun to share what I've learned. So, here are my simple steps to planting flowers in pots (aka: container gardening)!!



Step 1) Supplies, Supplies, Supplies: Grab planters in whatever shape, size, color & texture you want. I started with this lime green planter that I've had for ages. Other than your planter/container, you'll need a bag of soil, gardening gloves (I use my hands) and your flowers and plants.

Step 2) Prepping the Planter:
Place a few large rocks in the bottom of the planter to cover the small holes. This will allow the water to drain out, but will help keep the dirt in and your porch, patio or deck nice and clean! Fill the pot with soil.

Step 3): Arranging your plants: Grab the flowers you've selected and arrange them in your container if space allows. This will give you a good idea of how they will look once planted together.

When deciding what to plant, you should consider where they will be planted and how much sunlight they will get daily. Other things to consider when picking your plantings are your color scheme, surrounding plantings and how much care you're willing to devote to them.   
Arrange plants in your container before planting to make sure you like the layout!
 This planter is on our front porch so it gets full sun & partial shade.

A Better Homes & Garden tip is "If you have a combination of sun and shade on your patio, any area that receives fewer than 6 hours of sunlight each day calls for shade-loving plants.

I visited BHG.com for container gardening inspiration before heading to the store to buy anything. Using one of their plans, I selected: Coleus 'Florida City Yalaha', Sweet Potato Vine and Impatiens.


Ta-da....the finished product!

Close up of Deck planter

Adding some color to the deck area. I'd like to fill the space with tons of colored planters!

We planted planter boxes on the porch railing! Love it!
As you can see, it's easy to get carried away once you start planting your container gardens! I've enjoyed learning about different types of plants & flowers and experimenting with colors, textures and varieties!

June 21st-I've added a few pics from the past week just to show their growth!

My deck planters are doing oh so well!

Added a sweet potato vine & geranium mix to the patio area!

This is the view of our patio area-the pergola & firepit make for some fun nights!!

My porch planters are thriving with all of this good old Indiana rain!!
Here's a close up of my porch planter! Love how much they're growing!!

I'd love to hear your planting tips, stories & advice! Thanks for popping by!
Photobucket

I'm linking up to:

1 comment:

Brandi said...

hi Tauja, what a great outdoor space! So many pretty flowers. Things are coming up beautifully in your yard! Hope you're having a great week!