Painted Pots and Feathery Fireworks

If you take a look at the basics of our backyard- the walls, the brick patio, the stone patio under the bench, even the seating- everything is pretty neutral in color.

In general, I think this is a good thing because it allows us to add shots of color here in other ways. Take the seat cushions and umbrella for instance:

But if you look closely at that picture above, you may see another one of my recent color projects… here, let me get a close up for you:Sure, you can get a pretty colored pot at any Home Goods, Target, or Lowes/Home Depot, but let me challenge you to do this first. Try and see if there is something in your backyard (or pile of junk in the garage or shed) to which you can give a little TLC to get the same results. I say this because here’s what this pot originally looked like:

Plain ‘ole brown terracotta. Boring and dirty, but not beyond salvaging. All I did was grab a can of spray paint from HD that I thought would look nice with what we have going on in our backyard and gave the pot a little makeover.

To start, make sure you clean all the dirt off first for a nice, smooth finish!Because I couldn’t take all of the dirt out to do the inside (I had already planted stuff inside), I had to come up with a makeshift shield of cereal boxes and newspaper to protect the plants and dirt from getting their own coat of blue. I’d rate my system as functional, but not superb. Hopefully you have more freedom to paint the rim and inside more effectively than I did. All painting issues aside, the pot came out great and looks completely different than its original “outfit”. For $4 and an hour of time, I’m not complaining. 🙂I also took it upon myself to grab a darker hue and try it out on a smaller pot of roses. Unfortunately the roses weren’t in the mood to cooperate with a photo shoot, but here’s a picture of the mini-pot process for you.

But back to that big planter with the summery plants…I was thrilled to bring back some more of those “feathery fireworks”  to the mix(I’m coining that name because that’s just what I think of when I look at them… but if you’re on the hunt, you may have more luck searching for “Celosia”). In addition to those, I perused Produce Junction, trying to find something else that caught my eye. And I stumbled on these cuties!They’re called Portulaca and they instantly hooked me with their bright, almost neon colors. I think they’re a type of succulent and they do really well in a full-sun spot outside. These might be my favorite plants we have because of how bright and colorful they are. Makes me smile every time I see ’em.

So there you have it- a quick way to add some color to something you may already have! And for the sake of a plant update, here are a couple more:

1. The Room Addition with the climbing Clematis: doing about the same, but not much growth. I’m wondering if it’s going to take to the shallow/rocky soil. Hopefully so because otherwise, we’ll have to turn to Plan B for a natural wall covering. Oh, and I still have to install that fourth wall. Gotta get on that.2. The Garden Bed: doing just fine, especially with the addition of some mulch (thanks to a suggestion from a reader)! Here it is in all it’s dark and handsome glory:2b. The tomato plant has produced a few nice tomatoes, but we had no luck with the peppers. Boo.Ok, enough garden-y things. Hope this put a bit of color in your day! Come back tomorrow because I’ve got updates galore on the outdoor pillow hunt. Here’s a clue: I may or may not have scoured various Lowes stores for these pillows:

To be continued…

-Leslie