Who is in the market for new outdoor pots? Now is the perfect time to shop while the garden centers are fully stocked but not too busy with the spring gardening season. Four things to consider when selecting a container are style, size, material and color.
STYLE – The style of your outdoor planters should complement the style of your home. Planters with clean lines and modern shape would blend well with a contemporary style home. If the outside of your house is traditional, consider an urn or another classic style. If you want something more whimsical, you could find a planter with a unique, geometric shape – that would be a statement piece!
SIZE - The size of your containers should be in proportion to the size of your house, especially if they are in the front. You can also try groupings of pots to increase the scale. If you’re torn between two sizes, select the larger one because larger containers require less watering and you can fill it with more plants to make an even bigger impact.
MATERIAL - Boy, lots of choices here: glazed ceramic, wood, steel, fiber cement, fiberglass, cast stone, resin, rattan and terra-cotta to name a few. Resin planters are a nice choice because they are lightweight, inexpensive and are made to look just like cast stone, cast concrete or cast iron. We love the look of terra-cotta but be warned that water evaporates more quickly from porous materials like terra-cotta and it does not withstand cold winters as well as other materials like resin. Which brings up a good point: if you are in a cold climate, you will want to make sure your planters are frost proof if you want to leave them outside all year round. You really can’t go wrong with any of these materials! New planters are an investment but well worth it since they last for years.
COLOR - We like the color of our planters to contrast to the background. For example, if you have a red brick home or a light colored home, we would recommend black or cobalt blue planters. If the pots will be placed in front of a dark background, we would recommend light grey or white planters. Does the exterior of your home have a consistent color for the accents (outdoor light fixtures, shutters, door or window casings)? Usually it will be black, dark grey or dark brown. If so, it would be ideal to use the same color for your planters to coordinate the color theme. For the past few summers, Julie has used all shapes, styles and material of white planters on her back deck. She likes this neutral color because it allows the color of the plants to pop! We also love glazed ceramic cobalt blue pots. They certainly make a colorful statement and can bring life to a bland exterior.
Of course, always pick a planter with a drain hole or drill one yourself. You don’t want your plants to become waterlogged. This will cause the roots to rot and your beautiful plants to die.
Want to see our faves? We’ve gathered a few here.