Have you ever been outside of a business, or gone to an amusement or water park and seen the gorgeous potted plants and flowers that are placed everywhere?
The pots are always overflowing with beautiful flowers, lush plants and trailing vines.
You also see these beautiful potted plants at your local plant nursery, but they can be expensive and may be out of your budget.
At this time of year, we all would like some beautiful flowers and greenery in a pot, maybe on the front porch, the back patio, the apartment balcony or by the pool.
I have a tried-and-true method for you to achieve beautiful, professional looking pots for your home or apartment, for a fraction of the cost.
You can create your own gorgeous pots with the “Thrill, Fill and Spill” method.
And here is how you do it.
Materials needed:
Pot
Potting soil
Plants (enough for your pot)
Gardening gloves, hand trowel, water, etc.
To begin, fill your pot about two thirds full with good, new potting soil. Don’t worry if it looks like the soil is too low. You will be adding soil as you go.
Thrill
The “Thrill” part of your pot will be anything that is taller, will grow taller and be a little showy. Place it at the back portion of your pot if it will be up against a wall or railing. Place it in the middle if your pot will be seen from all sides.
Here, I have chosen Dracena and two white Cosmos. Other good choices would be tropical Hibiscus or Fountain Grass. Place them in your pot and fill in around them with some soil.
Fill
The “Fill” part of your pot will be the plants and flowers that grow lower and will fill in the pot. Here, I have used Vincas and Pink Polka Dot (Hypoestes).
You could try Pentas or Impatiens. Place them in front, or around, your taller plant or plants. Fill in with some soil.
Spill
The “spill” will be any flower or vine that will trail over the edge of the pot and hang down. Here, I have used Creeping Jenny, but you could also use Sweet Potato Vine or Ice Plant. A trick to planting the “spill."
Dig a little hole and place the plant on its side, with the foliage/flowers spilling over the edge of your pot. It will grow well, and you have started it growing over the edge of the pot.
Once you have all your plants and flowers in place, fill in with soil to bring the level up to about one inch below the rim of your pot. Place it where you want it, water it and sit back and enjoy how beautiful it becomes.
A couple of final tips. Make sure all the plants you choose need the same amount of light. You don’t want to put plants that require sun in a pot with a plant that requires shade.
Also, make sure all your plants in the same pot require the same amount of water. You don’t want to put a cactus in the same pot as a fern.
Don’t be afraid to put a lot of plants into your pot. I used a 13” pot and put 7 plants in it. I could have used a few more. Annual plants and flowers don’t put out a big root system. You can use more than you think.
I need to give a shout out and “Thank You” to Kim Ritchie. She supplied all the materials and plants for this blog. So, Thanks, Kim!
With a little planning, a little work and following my tips, you can have gorgeous potted plants for your patio, pool or balcony. Give it a try!
Happy gardening!
Wichitan Chip Kouri — who recently participated as a teaching artist in the Wichita Falls Alliance for Arts and Culture that gave us the Don't Fence Me In project, as well as starring in "Sister Act" and "The Wizard of Oz" at The Wichita Theatre, as well as "Lend Me a Tenor" at Backdoor Theatre — takes us along as he creates some of his home, gardening and entertaining favorites.