Quick and Dirty Tips for Plant Containers

It's not a rule that plants have to go in traditional planters. 
I found this basket for my zinnias at Salvation Army for 59 cents.  

Let’s bust up some myths about container planting. Let’s make the containers themselves interesting and fun.

I know I’m forever telling you home sellers to stifle your decorating personality when you’re staging your home. 

But I’m loosening the rules for outside decor. Outside, the colors can be brighter, the mood a little quirkier, the message more personal.

I’m not suggesting you plant a toilet with petunias for the front yard, but containers for summer plants and flowers can be attention-getting in a good way – the way that helps sell your home. Here are some examples.

The basket above will be good for a season or two, but these metal planters will give you
years of service. If they aren't originally designed for plants, you'll need to punch holes
for drainage, or insert plastic pots and then make sure the pots don't sit in water.
These plants sit near my front door under the eves, where they won't get waterlogged. 

Here is another of my favorite metal planters -- an old copper tea pot.
If you use metal containers for plants, it's best to keep them out of
direct sun so the roots don't overheat and cook your plants.  

An old wheelbarrow with a leaky tub makes a perfect planter.
I keep mine in the middle of my Scent Garden, where I can move it
when the man comes to fill the propane tank that I don't like looking at.
Do you have an eyesore that a planter can disguise?  

Upcycled boots are roomy enough for different plants. Succulents are a good choice
because they have shallow roots and are not demanding. Drainage is usually sufficient, and
just look at all the personality they can give a small garden space! Photo: Lushome. 

If the boot you are planting is rubber like this one, add holes to the sole.
Details like this in the garden are like your accessories indoors.
They can cause people to slow down and appreciate your home. 

Although technically not a container, this hanging basket stuffed with
Spanish moss is as good as a container of flowers for all the
interest it adds to my friend's garden .
Yes, she lives in an old church.  

You don't need an old, rusty, clunker bike to stage it as a planter.
Any bike, any size, any style will do as long as it has a roomy basket,
which you can line with landscape fabric or cocoa fiber matting. 
Make sure the bike is secured so no one pedals it away.
because it will be irresistible. Photo: David Spencer.

Container plants offer so many advantages to the home seller that they can't be ignored or omitted if you want to get smart about selling your home.   

I hope I have sparked some ideas that will have you hunting for original planters for your summer

flowers. If you look around you will see other possibilities suitable for your locale and your 

home -- shells, wooden buckets, watering cans, or chairs with missing seats. Please pass on the

bed frames, old tires, bath tubs, and Volkswagons. I'm not kidding. Volkswagons.    

For more ideas on how to stage your home, download my $5 eBook, DIY Home Staging Tips

to Sell Your Home Fast and for Top Dollar.