A Collection of Colorful Pots

In the past I’ve grouped green pots on my deck, and always loved this look. This year I decided to shake things up by pulling from my collection of colorful glazed pottery. If you have an assortment of colorful pots, have I got a weekend project for you:

In the spring these pots added cheerful colors to the deck even when it was far too early to plant them with summer annuals.

I always plant the metal troughs with a combination of plants that catch the light at the end of the day and flowers that attract hummingbirds. Although many times I use larger annuals for instant gratification, this year I had many annual cuttings that I saved from last year. Since most of the plants are small at the beginning of June, the colors of the pots are even more important as the plants are gaining size.

I also used several Sweet Spot Roses in these pots. This is often called “The Decorator Rose” and once you see the flowers you know why! I can’t wait for these to come into bloom in my containers. (Hint: in all these containers I’ve used a combination of equal parts Flower-tone organic fertilizer Espoma FT4 4-Pound Flower-tone 3-5-7 Plant Food and Proven Winners or Osmocote Time Release synthetic fertilizer. The time-release product provides the instant “fast food” growth stimulation and the Espoma organic supplies slow-release, long term nutrients for later in the summer. Given this mix, which I only use in containers and for annuals – not on perennials, shrubs etc – my containers are fed all summer and I never have to give them a liquid feed.)

 As you can see from these photos I’ve also been collecting clay pot feet. These hold the pots up off the deck and allow the deck to dry, and I’m more easily able to wash assorted debris out from under the pots as well.  Plantstand PT-06TCCS 6-Pack Terra Cotta Pot toes

Note: If you want to see how I lined these metal feed troughs using Smart Pots, read this post on my old blog.