Happy Monday!
Let me start off today’s post with a confession…I don’t do dirt.
Even though I grew up living in the country I’d consider myself more of an indoorsy kinda girl. Mainly because I am deathly afraid of snakes, big bugs and/or any rodents that come out of no where just to scare you. So, when my mom asked me to help her weed her perennial garden a few years ago this brilliant “I don’t do dirt” comment came out of my mouth. And it sort of stuck…all while continuing to make us laugh about it years later.
You might be wondering how I make my DIY Planted Flower Pots each year since I don’t do dirt…so I thought I’d share that with you today!
My secret to not doing dirt is called… potting mix soil! Which is simply dirt that you buy in a bag from the store. But, to me it really means snake, bug and rodent free 🙂 It’s not what I consider to be “real” dirt. Therefore, I can use it to make my DIY Planted Flower Pots.
Once you have your “dirt” you need some pretty flowers to plant. These are the pretty flowers my sister and I picked out to plant this year.
Directions:
1. Fill the flower pot with the potting mix soil about 3/4 full. Notice since I don’t do dirt I used a solo cup to fill the pot, because I don’t have a little flower scooping shovel 🙂 Make do with what you have…a solo cup worked for me!
2. Scoop out small holes to plant each of your flowers in using your little garden shovel or solo cup.
3. Break up the roots and soil from the flowers a little with your hands before you plant the flowers in the hole.
4. Then place your flower in the hole and cover the roots with soil.
5. Repeat the steps with each new flower that you add, making sure to spread the flowers out evenly.
6. Water your finished product! It also seems to work for me to add a little Miracle-Gro to my flower pots after they are planted. Just make sure you don’t pour the Miracle-Gro mix directly on the flowers. Keep it in the soil for best results.
Then you have a beautiful DIY Planted Flower Pot to enjoy!
This year since I have been spray painting everything but the kitchen sink, I decided to spray paint my flower pots too. I used Krylon’s Oxford Blue Satin for these pots. Don’t you think the pots look much better!?
Maybe someday I’ll “do dirt” and have my own perennial garden. But, for now I’m sticking with potting mix soil that comes in a bag 🙂
What about you, do you “do dirt”?
Have a great day!
I’ve linked up at:
I Should be Mopping the Floor, Huckleberry Love, Tatertots & Jello
allthoughtswork says
May 19, 2014 at 12:22 pmThe blue is much better, yup. Good call.
Former professional gardener, here. The trick to pots is putting things in there that all get along and need the same conditions. You might find that the begonia prefers a little shade in the afternoon heat but the geranium wants hot sun all day. Whoever you appease, the other one will stop blooming. But you might get away with a spot that gets shade after 2 PM. If you’d rather stick to sunny and hot, replace the begonia with a petunia of the same blooming color and put the begonia in its own little pot.
Did you know you can plant tulip and daffodil bulbs in there, too? http://sandandsisal.com/2013/10/how-to-plant-bulbs-in-pots.html
Damnit, now I wanna plant some pots! 🙂
theblueeyeddove says
May 19, 2014 at 1:26 pmThanks for all the great tips! I am quite a novice when it comes to planting anything. Luckily, I have been able to keep my plants and flowers alive for most of the season…somehow 🙂
allthoughtswork says
May 19, 2014 at 1:37 pmStarting with pots is an excellent way to get your feet wet, you choose wisely.
Here’s a tip for the savvy shopper: mid- to late-summer, everybody slashes prices on their annuals to clear their shelves. If you swoop in and grab a bunch of stuff half-price, you can do even more pots in time for that Labor Day barbecue.
Best plant ever? Dusty Miller. It’s hardy in just about any condition, has groovy soft silver leaves that really pop visually, and even though stores price it cheap as an annual, it usually comes back like a perennial. https://www.google.com/search?q=dusty+miller&rlz=1C1VEAD_enUS472US472&es_sm=122&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=u0B6U5HNIMaJogSJ_oDoBg&ved=0CAgQ_AUoAQ&biw=1528&bih=834#q=dusty+miller+in+pots&tbm=isch
Have fun!
theblueeyeddove says
May 19, 2014 at 1:39 pmWow, thank you so much! I will check it out. 🙂
Pat says
May 19, 2014 at 8:42 pmI always try to read the little tags that come in the plants for “full sun”, partial sun” etc. Your pots look beautiful!
theblueeyeddove says
May 19, 2014 at 8:59 pmThanks, Pat! All of these flowers are supposed to be ok in full sun exposure, so we’ll see 🙂 Glad you like them!