photo credit: hello-julie

Hang planters and hooks on the side of your home and place hardy plants in baskets. You will want hardy low maintenance plants that require less water than most plants. You don’t want to be running out watering these planters all the time. I often select geranium, ivy, marigolds, zinnias or a mix of herb plants. Garden art figurines will also look nice tucked in the planters for more color and interest.

Consider adding a collection of different size pots and containers and arrange them in a corner of a porch, patio, fence area or yard. This will give a feeling of height to the area and create a lush garden feeling.

Purchase a freestanding wrought iron plant hook for your garden and hang a basket filled with annuals. A planter placed high in a garden creates a focal point.

Consider planting climbing roses or clematis to wrap around deck posts. This will soften the sharp lines of your home and create a more private feel to the backyard.

Many for these tips can be done in a few hours at a reasonable cost. They will give your home and garden area a fresh look.

photo credit: hello-julie

Planters: Where to place your plants

Where you place your plant in a room or on patios and balconies create an impact upon the atmosphere and ambience of the area. Your first concern with potted plants is the amount of light or lack of light the plant requires. The plant care tag will help you with this or garden shops and online plant care websites.

Once you know your plant needs it time to place the plant for the best visual effect.

Tall, potted plants will create a quiet reading corner or add privacy to an office space. They can be used as a divider in a room or to hide a problem area in a room.

Hanging plants can provide a screen for a bathroom or bedroom window. They will also create a room barrier and fill bare corner with color. Add an herbal hanging container to you kitchen and harvest fresh herbs for cooking all winter.

An orchid may add tropical appeal to a patio or other living space. To give a more rounded and lush look near the orchid add two or three small potted plants around the orchid planter.

photo credit: magic_bee

Avoid placing plants in heavy traffic areas or small spaces. They will add a cluttered feel to these spaces and interfere with traffic flow.

Make sure that plants placed on tables or in other conversation spots are not too large. This will interfere with conversation and give the area an uneasy unbalanced feel.

Potted containers.

Pots and containers are often overlooked when selecting a plant and adding to the atmosphere of a room. Many feel any old pot will do. But selecting pots for color and décor adds to the room and to the beauty of the plant.

Regardless of the decorative appeal, a container with good drainage is a must for an interior plant. Indoor plants have more of a problem for plant disease if the soil cannot drain properly

Place a saucer underneath the container to catch the run off water before it leaves water stains on your tables or reaches your floor. Saucers with pebbles place them will keep excess water away for the plants roots and add humidity around the plants. This humidity is beneficial to the plants and people.

Polystyrene peanuts will keep the container light in weight, increase your drainage, and
decrease the soil needed to fill the pot. This is particularly important in hanging baskets and larger potting containers that can get heavy. Outdoor balcony gardens will also benefit from lighter planters.

Baskets and decorator pots are available at home improvement stores, gardening centers, auction houses and garage sales. You can also paint or redecorate or planter and pots to match your décor. And if you are in a creative mood you can make a hypertyfu one of a kind planter.

Plants and planters add to the atmosphere and health of your home. And with creativity in the choice of plants and planters you can add change to your rooms on a weekly or monthly basis, indoors or out.

photo credit: thebittenword.com

With proper planning you can grow most of your garden produce in a window box garden set up. And by mixing vegetables, flowers and herbs you can grow a large variety of plants to fit every need.

The you tube below will show you how to make your own window boxes, which may be helpful to those that are working with small backyard design.

The next you tube has planting ideas for your window boxes that you made or purchased. I like to mix window boxes with hanging baskets to get a layered look, which add depth to your garden area and makes better use of the small space that you have for a garden area.

Mini gardens add to any backyard or balcony and give the area an oasis feeling. By using window boxes and hanging baskets in a layering design you will create a lush garden and more privacy to your backyard oasis paradise.