I purchased two concrete planters at a local shop for $20.00 each last fall. They were so heavy that when I returned home, I just dropped them at the side of my driveway. They sat there until this spring when I decided to revamp the side yard that goes the length of my driveway. Concrete planters aren’t something I usually plant in and I actually purchased them to sell. But this area needed a little sprucing up and I decided to use the planters.
This small piece of lawn runs between our driveway, and our neighbors. It has several pine trees, and a couple of dogwood trees. An old bench that I bought on Facebook marketplace for 12.00, found what I thought was a temporary home, but has yet to be moved, or painted.
Vines and ivy had taken over, and were even growing up the dogwoods. Poison ivy was rampant!. If we had kudzu, it would have found a great home in this mess. After a couple of hours of cleaning out, I was ready to plant.
These concrete planters have a hole in the bottom. If they hadn’t , I would have lined the bottom with rocks to provide adequate drainage. I filled the planter with a flower and garden soil mix and added a pelleted all purpose plant fertilizer. Since this strip of yard is shady due to the pines and dogwood trees I chose a hosta plant for one container and a plantain lily for the other. Next, I watered it well. I always water my newly planted plants every day for at least a few days. Plants in containers should be watered when the first inch or so of soil is dry. In the summer, and especially with this horrible heat we have had, these required watering every other day. I placed one plant in the end of each planter leaving enough room for adding one of my birdhouses to one planter and a vintage bird feeder to the other.
I love adding a little whimsy to the garden, and one of my favorite birdhouses was added to this planter. Blue gives it a pop of color.
I bought this green feeder at a local flea market for $7.00 I will bring it in this winter, but love the vintage decor it adds.
I have had my St. Francis of Assisi statue for years. Last fall, the wind blew him over and if you look closely at his waist, you can see the crack. It didn’t go all the way through, and I moved him to this level spot under the dogwood tree. He goes perfectly with the concrete planters.
I’m very happy with the way these simple concrete planters changed this little strip of my yard. It was an eyesore for a couple of years, and in just a few hours of weeding, and adding a couple of plants to the planters, a big difference was realized. It doesn’t take a lot of money, or big changes to create a difference. Take one area of your yard at a time and do it. Then move on to the next project. This will help you from becoming overwhelmed when you see all that needs to done.
The area beside my driveway looks much better now. These planters can be changed out with seasonal decor. Pumpkins in the fall instead of the birdhouses, and when the plants die down in the winter, they will be fill with Christmas decor. I’ll be sure and post those changes!
Happy Gardening!
Karen
