HAS EVERYONE RECOVERED from the long weekend and the unveiling of my PINK front door? This week has felt long to me for some reason. It’s only mid-afternoon, but I’m hot, exhausted and covered in paint. Lots of projects going on this week. My sorry state meant it was time to update the ol’ blog in the comfort of my air-conditioned office! We had great weather on Memorial Day so Matt and I spent some time working in our yard. Part of project curb appeal at the Bates Estate (ha!) was this pretty planter:
I’m sure you’ve all seen some version of this planter in a magazine or somewhere on the Internet. If not, pretend as if you’re seeing it here for the first time and tell all your friends. I made this pretty planter with just a few supplies:
- 1 large round plastic planter
- 1 medium tall planter
- 1 small hanging basket planter without the chain
- 2 colors of spray paint (I used Indigo Streamer and Spring Sprout, both by Valspar)
- potting soil
- aluminum cans (beer or pop, your choice)
- a variety of annuals
I picked up three different sized plastic planters and two colors of spray paint from Lowe’s. I also purchased a selection of flowers at my local nursery, Wendy’s. I’d suggest going to your local horticultural guru for some interesting plants. The selection at the big-box store vs. the local store can’t even be compared. And, at least in my case, the prices are relatively similar. I had every intention of telling you what plants I purchased, but in the days that elapsed since finishing the project the little name cards stuck inside the plants have gone missing. All I can say is that the combination ultimately worked when I put them all into the planter!
When choosing my plants, I stayed in the same color family to achieve a cohesive look. I also made sure to select various trailing, mounding and upright plants so that my planter would look lush and full once the plants grow. If you’re not sure what I’m talking about, check out this helpful glossary of plant terms that Lowe’s provides on its website.
After spraying my planters with spray paint, I was ready to plant. First I filled the bottom of my planters with some crushed cans to create some space in the bottom for the water to drain and to keep the planters a bit lighter than they’d be if filled entirely with dirt.
I did this with each size planter. Then it was time to plant. I filled each planter up with dirt and then stacked them in my desired formation before I started adding the plants. When I’m doing a container garden, I plant the upright plants first, fill around the uprights with medium-sized mounding plants and then cover any open spaces with trailing plants, which help to create flow and fill empty spots in your container.
If you remember back to last week, this is what my front porch looked like. Even though the door was pretty in pink, the rest of the porch is pretty ugly.
Now we have two of these simple DIY stacked planters as well as some other pots filled with flowers. I’ll work on the arrangement as the summer progresses, but for now I’m just happy to see some more color on the porch! The plants in my planter on the left look much better than the right. Let’s hope that the summer sun and plenty of water help to perk up the plants on the other side!
Did anyone else do any planting over Memorial Day weekend? Do you think you’ll try out one of these simple DIY stacked planters? What colors/plants will you use?
xoxoSara
