As the trend of personalizing spaces continues to get people thinking outside the beige box, think of your outdoor space as an extension of your personality and interior design. Whether your style is nouveau modern (that’s today’s new modern), traditional (a.k.a. classic, timeless elegance), vintage inspired, industrial, or an eclectic mix, find the perfect combinations for your home’s personality, and your flower pots, with the help of expert advice from Stauffers of Kissel Hill’s Steve Norman (www.skh.com).
Because most containers are usually filled with perennials, potted plants at your entryways are a great way to update your home’s personality and panache, year after year, by trying something new. Norman also suggests intermixing some perennials, “especially in shady spots where a hardy fern, hosta, or heuchera can help make quite a statement.”
One trend he’s seeing is using hardy and tender succulents in planters. “These colorful, low growing and extremely drought tolerant plants—which include stonecrops or sedums, echeveria, haworthia and others—are easy to care for. These plants have enough variety to create a really cool look in a planter, just with these plants alone.” They do best in full sun, he advises. The best part, Norman adds: “You can go away for the weekend, and no problem, they will look great when you get back.” Also for sunny spots, “using ‘tropicals’ in your planter adds some height in the middle,” suggests Norman.
“Another trend is to create containers with just vegetables (such as tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant), keeping them closer to your patio and porch, and even closer to your kitchen,” explains Norman.
Stick with a theme to style your outdoor spaces. Consider your interior design–what colors do you use indoors? Try to bring coordinating colors outdoors to create a cohesive ambience from the inside out.
To get maximum curb appeal, consider the color of your home when choosing your plants. If your home is brick, greens and bright colors like yellow and purple coordinate nicely; stay away from reds similar to brick shades. Yellows are a trendy, modern complement to gray-toned stone and siding. Red foliage and flowers also look striking with gray. To bring beige siding or brown stone to life, try pops of pink, purple, and red with greens, but veer away from yellow and orange. Varied shades of green foliage pop in front of a white home and add interest through texture for a timeless, classy look for just about any home style.
Find your style and plants for potting
Choose plants that complement your home's style and colors and be sure to consider sun- versus shade-preference plants.