This Pool Noodle Hack Will Turn Your Patio Into An Everlasting Oasis Of Green

When decorating your porch for summertime, you might want to include lots of plants, greenery, and flowers; however, for those who live in extremely hot climates or don't have the best green thumb, it can be difficult to keep your decorative plants alive. Luckily, this creative pool noodle hack will allow you to create planters filled with faux greenery that looks like the real thing. With just a planter, a few pool noodles, and your fake plants, you can have a gorgeous decoration that will never droop or die if you forget about it.

This hack is great for larger planters, though it could be done in small pots as well with smaller greenery arrangements. You might choose to make multiple of these decorative planters to line a pathway to your home. Alternatively, you could set one on each side of the entrance to your porch, or simply adorn your patio with your DIY oasis. While ferns in large pots have a beautiful, lively appearance, you could choose to use whatever greenery or flowers you'd like, making this project really customizable. This pool noodle hack will bring summertime sweetness to your backyard and make decorating easy.

To start, you'll want to choose your planters. If you already have some that aren't being used, this DIY can be a great way to repurpose them and get some more use out of your planters. Otherwise, you might consider purchasing one or a few pots for this project. On Amazon, the Kante tall rectangular planter is just under $45, but if you want something fancier, the online retailer also has a set of two large ceramic outdoor planters for about $93. Alternatively, Home Depot has some great options to make your decor look beautiful as well, like the simple yet elegant tall Finley square floor planter (about $35). You might also look into the whiskey barrel planter for about $20.

Once you have selected your planter, you'll want to cut your pool noodles ($1.25 each at Dollar Tree) so that they are just a little shorter than your planter. Depending on the size of your planter, you may need several pool noodles to fill it. To hold your noodles steady, you can tape them in a bunch together and place them in a bucket, surrounded by rocks. This will also add weight to your planter to keep it steady. If you're working with a smaller planter or one that's already heavy, you can simply stuff your foam pieces inside and use empty plastic bottles to ensure they're snug. Now that your planter is ready, it's time to add your greenery.

Make sure that your pool noodles are secure and won't move around too much in your planter before adding your greenery. You'll need to stick the stems of your faux plants into the middle of each pool noodle, as well any gaps beside the foam to give your decoration a fuller appearance. If you find that the greenery or the noodles themselves are a bit wobbly, try adding more foam or rocks inside the planter to hold everything together better. Alternatively, you could cut off small wedges from extra pool noodles and stuff them into the centers of the ones in your planter. This will firmly hold the stems of your faux plants and could help your project look more realistic. Continue filling your planter with flowers and adjusting them so that the pool noodles cannot be seen at all.

For greenery, you could use something like the Ashland asparagus fern bush (about $10 at Michaels), or you might want your fake plants to stand up a little taller. In that case, the six pack of outdoor artificial ferns from Amazon for about $8 could be a good choice. Alternatively, you may include a variety of flowers and greenery to match the aesthetic of your patio. With this genius pool noodle hack, you can make your patio or yard look like an oasis without the added chore of caring for real plants.