Aside from the plants themselves, gardeners can use decor items in their gardens to show off personality and style! When we say decor, you might immediately think of extravagant sculptures, fairy lights, or even an elaborately decorated trellis. While these can be delightful additions, we like to start with the essentials when planning garden decor ideas and look at simple features like ceramic pottery! Here are some of our favorite, fun, quirky ways to use pottery as decor in our outdoor spaces.
A Ladder of Colorful Potted Plants
Lining pots along the edge of your patio or on a shelf can feel a little boring at times, which is why we love this ladder idea! This idea tends to work best with a wooden ladder or a ladder with rungs that are at least a few inches wide to support a small planter pot.
Lean the ladder on an angle so that the rungs are parallel to the floor, and use each run as a shelf to show off your gorgeous potted plants! This pottery decor idea works great if you create a nice mix of neutral and bright colors. Either leave the ladder fairly plain and dress the display up with brightly colored pots and flowers, or you can paint the ladder a cheery color while maintaining a neutral vibe with the pots you select.
Create a River of Plants
Rather than stick to the traditional flower bed look, grab a large ceramic pot that speaks to the rest of your decor and personality. Decide where you would like your flower bed and dig a space for the ceramic pot to lay overturned on its side. You’ll want to dig into the ground a little bit and then mound your soil up around about ¼ of the sides of the pot to ensure that it remains secure.
From there, select your preferred blooms that will ‘spill’ out of the top of the pot! We recommend selecting shorter plants, similar to what you would plant along the borders of a traditional bed, to emulate the ‘river’ feel a little more accurately. Some annuals under 12 inches that we love include pansies, violas, lobelia, or impatiens. Map out where you would like your annual river to ‘flow,’ add some soil to the inside of the overturned ceramic pot, and then start planting!
Design a Vertical Garden with Your Pottery
There are so many ways to harness the cute personality of your pottery in a vertical garden! A vertical garden is an excellent choice for anyone limited to a smaller outdoor space (i.e., a balcony). Still, they look fabulous in any backyard because they are totally versatile.
You can make things as simple as a vertical terra cotta pot garden by picking up some brackets from your local hardware store so you can secure them to your fence, or you can DIY a wall planter ladder with a few basic tools, some cedar boards, wood screws, flower pot clips, and wood glue.
Monochromatic Color Schemes
Whether you are arranging pottery indoors or outdoors, a tried and tested rule is to group pottery monochromatically; this helps your landscape design look more intentional. Select several pieces in varying heights and textures, but keep the color scheme consistent for a clean, stylish statement.
Monochromatic groupings can also speak to the plants you select if you are arranging pottery as a container garden. By selecting plants with a similar color palette, you will have a clean, cohesive design.
Always Opt for Varying Heights
Rather than having a line of pots that are all the same height, add visual interest and depth to your pottery arrangements. Even if most of your planters are the same height, you can elevate some of them with plant stands or even cinder blocks. It is also best to use an odd number of pieces of pottery or containers when decorating, as it tends to feel less uniform which is more pleasing to the eye.
For more ideas or to pick up some gorgeous new pottery pieces in Bismarck, stop by Plant Perfect to check out what we have in stock!