How To Add A Little Floral Fun To The Posts In Your Yard

Small backyard landscaping ideas that will transform your space can be challenging to get right, especially where plants are involved. If you're dealing with diminutive grounds, you need to take full advantage of unusual spaces — going vertical with gardens on walls, hanging planters in trees and from patio eaves, or, if you're planning on adding posts to your backyard for string lights around an outdoor seating area, a pergola frame, or a clothesline, you could add a floral or nature element to these unsightly features by implementing a barrel planter around their base before you cement or otherwise fix the post in place. All you need to do is cut a post-width-sized hole in the bottom of the large plastic planter and slot it over the post support. Mount the post inside and fill the whole thing with soil and your favorite flowering shrubs, trailing plants, or climbers.

If you're watching your backyard renovation budget, get a United Solutions 19 Gallon Rope Handle Black Heavy-Duty Tub 2-Pack for $49. If you have more to spend, invest in an undeniably fancier Better Barrel Heavy-Duty 24 Inch Walnut Color Planter with Rusting Steel Bands for about $85. Grab some PRIMAX 6 Mils Waterproof UV Resistant Thick Black Plastic Sheeting Roll (10 x 25 Feet) for about $27 and a roll of thick-width gaffer tape. Lining your raised garden beds with plastic is undeniably controversial; here, you just use sheeting around the post to protect it from moisture. Tools-wise, all you need are a rotary tool fitted with a cutting disc — don't forget the safety goggles — and some sharp scissors to cut the plastic sheeting and the tape.

For lightweight applications — like, say, string lights surrounding a fire pit — in areas with year-round mild climatic conditions, you can anchor your fence post into the ground using an ARIFARO 36 Inch Heavy Duty Fence Post Anchor Ground Spike. A pack of four costs about $57. In this case, cut a hole in the base of your barrel planter slightly wider than the width of the post anchor. Set the anchor into the ground and lift the planter over it. Insert and secure the post in place. If the posts are supporting anything heavier than string lights, cementing them into the ground is safer. In this case, you'll need a ladder and possibly two people to lift a planter up and over the top of each post once it's erected and the cement has cured. You'll also need to measure the width of your pole to determine the size of the hole you cut in the base of your barrel planter.

If you have posts that are already in place, you can still try this DIY. Have, for example, a backyard bird feeder or birdhouse on a post? Unscrew or unbolt said feeder or house and slip the planter over the post. (Just be aware that seed dropped from a bird feeder may sprout in the garden below.) This works for mailboxes, too. No matter the method, once the planter is securely in place around the post, wrap it tightly with plastic sheeting and gaffer tape to just under the height of the planter rim. This will ensure the post stays moisture-free, preventing rust and rot.

Fill your planter with compost, soilless or artificial medium, or a quality potting soil designed for use in outdoor container gardening. A good example is FoxFarm Happy Frog Potting Soil — a four-pack of 12-quart bags sells for about $24. Do ensure your pot has lots of drainage holes, but avoid putting rocks in the bottom of the pot. Despite common belief, they hinder rather than aid drainage.

Not knowing the difference between thrillers, spillers, and fillers is one of the biggest mistakes you can make with your container garden. Take the opportunity to add a pop of color to your backyard with flowering shrubs, like Dwarf canna, miniature roses, and Gomphrena. Cover the post with a pretty climber, like Virginia creeper, coral honeysuckle, or Amethyst Falls wisteria. Pair these thrillers with abundant fillers and cascading spillers, like Coleus, wild ginger (for shady spots), or margarita sweet potato. Aim for about six ornamental plants in a 5- to 7-gallon planter. More of a practical gardener? Plant the tubs out with your favorite culinary herbs and compact or quick-harvest vegetables like mustard greens, radishes, and spinach.

The growing medium in plant pots dries out much faster than in-ground gardens, so you need to keep on top of watering — as much as once or twice a day in summer. If you can't water as often as you'd like, consider setting up a simple drip irrigation system or planting xeriscape-friendly plants. Likewise, plants use up the nutrients in potted soil quickly, so add a soluble fertilizer to your water every week at the minimum.