Plants can transform your patio from blank and uninviting into a colorful outdoor living room! Your patio is an extension of your home, and plants are a wonderful way to decorate. Who doesn’t want to live among some pretty plant friends?! But where do you start?

First, you’ll want to determine how many plants you really want.

Are you going for a really lush look or a simple, easy care option? Simple could be a single fun pot from Home Depot or Lowes with a seasonal flowering plant – we like buying the ready-made flower baskets that they have in the garden section when we need a seasonal splash of color. Lush could mean multiple planters scattered across your whole patio, creating an at-home jungle!

Second, you’ll want to determine where to put the plants, and how to display them.

There are three factors determining where you may want to put your plant friends…

A gorgeous industrial elevated planter from CB2!

1) condo rules

If you live in a condo there may be HOA rules that keep you from installing permanent planters, but if you aren’t limited by building rules, then bolting in a couple hooks is a GREAT way to have a permanent place to easily hang a seasonal hanging basket and have a profusion of flowers in spring and summer!

2) wind 

If you have a flat railing it might be a great spot for a window box or railing planter, but be careful, particularly if your patio is not ground level. Wind could potentially knock things off your ledge and crash down on people or cars below – falling objects can actually kill, so use that space with caution!!

3) how much elevation or screening do you want?

The easiest thing to do is place pots directly on the ground, but if you want some height either for interest or for privacy screening (without adding something like bamboo) then a raised stand or etagere is a great way to add layers to your space!

Third, determine how much maintenance you want to do.

This is where the right plant choice comes into play. West-facing means your plants will get lots of nice afternoon sun, but will also get hot and therefore dry out quickly (so you need to water them more, or figure out a self-watering system). There are pots designed to help with this- like this one from Amazon.

If you’re looking for more inspiration and you’re in the Seattle area, we recommend a field trip to Swanson’s Nursery. Not only do they have great service and offer great advice, they also have so much inspiration – just looking at their example container gardens will fill you with ideas! (Not to mention that they have a sweet cafe, gift shop, and koi pond. Go make a day of it – maybe we’ll see you there! 😁)

Hopefully this helps you feel more confident in decorating your patio with plants! If choosing the perfect planters and setting up your little outdoor oasis overwhelms you we would *love* to give you more guidance via a Design Helpline session – we are here to help! (Of course, our expertise is in the furnishings department rather than plants, so we can help you with layout and selecting just the right bistro set, but if you really need focused plant advice, try a coaching session with our colleague Lucinda of Spirit Garden Design – she offers coaching just like we do, but with a focus on the green stuff.) 🌱

May your home (and your Patio) always be happy!