Ideas for Outdoor Planters

Go boldly beautiful or delightfully whimsical as you select the perfect outdoor planters to decorate your home. You might consider hanging baskets full of hummingbird-friendly plants or strategically placed sculptured topiaries. Or, put up a window box or two filled with brilliantly hued blossoms. No doubt you'll add some pizzazz to your personal space.

Hanging baskets are perfect for plants that attract hummingbirds. Put them on your porch or patio and watch the little hummers flit from flower to flower as they sip nectar while suspended in mid-air. Hummingbirds prefer tube-shaped flowers and are partial to red, orange and pink.

The lipstick plant (Aeschynanthus radicans), hardy in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 10 to 11, is one option. This plant is an evergreen originating in Malaysia that prefers warmth and humidity. In some parts of the United States they are often grown in sunrooms and greenhouses, and brought outside during late spring and summer. This vine produces clusters of bright red tubular flowers.

Lady's eardrops, (Fuchsia), USDA zone 10 to 11, is an evergreen that has red, pink, white, purple and bi-color tubular flowers that hang downward. Depending on the hybrid cultivar, the flowers can be single or double, all with prominent stamens. These plants like part to full shade. Some hybrids have a bush-like shape, while others have trailing stems, which are best for hanging baskets.

The type of plants that work in window boxes depend on whether the window box is on the sunny or the shady side of the house. For esthetic purposes, the color of the flowers should also contrast with the house color. If you have a blue house, reds, pinks, yellows and whites would show up nicely. Blue flowers, depending on the shade, might get lost. Mix and match flowers to create variety.

One suggestion is dusty miller (Senecio cineraria), USDA zones 7 to 10, a perennial foliage plant that rarely flowers but has felted, silver gray leaves that complement colorful blooms. Dusty miller does well in full sun to partial shade conditions. Moss rose (Portulaca grandiflora), USDA zones 2 to 11, loves full sun and blooms from June until the first frost. Flowers are showy and come in red, rose, orange, yellow or white. Fushias, described above, add a variety of colors to window boxes.

Bonsai are miniature trees and plants that are trimmed and trained to grow in esthetically pleasing shapes. The trimming and the potting in shallow containers also keeps the plants small. This Japanese art form is suitable for indoor or outdoor use. Outdoor bonsai are often used as patio decor or as greenery for Japanese-style gardens.

Common juniper (Juniperus communis), USDA zones 3 to 7, is one of the preferred plants because the leaves tolerate the trimming and hold their shape well. Another is the cherry tree (Prunus subhirtella), USDA zones 4 to 8, which flowers in the spring. The pinkish blossoms usually arrive in March or April.

Head into an English formal garden and you might find hedges cut into perfect cubes, pyramids or any number of geometric or animal shapes. This is the art of topiary. Potted shrubs can also be clipped into topiaries to accent a backyard garden or make a home's entryway more inviting. Evergreens, like the junipers often used for bonsai plants, are also a favorite for making "lollipop" and spiral shaped topiary. The lollipop is made by trimming all the foliage off, except for a sphere at the top of the plant. It looks like a giant lollipop on a stick.

Another evergreen, the American arborvitae (Thuja occidentalis 'Smaragd'), USDA zones 2 to 7, is sometimes used to create topiary cactus, stars or other whimsical shapes. Although this evergreen is usually slow growing and the resulting topiary doesn't need to be trimmed as often, the American arborvitae is considered invasive in parts of the Northeast, around the Great Lakes, in parts of the Appalachian Mountains and in Haleakala National Park on the Island of Maui in Hawaii.

Inject extra style into your collection of planters with these DIY concrete flowerpots.