Invite summer with bright plant holder ideas

Hi Readers,

Spring and Summer have always brought smile and cheer in our lives with pure greenery, clear blue skies and seas, a million colored flowers, chirpy birds and fluttering butterflies!

Spot any leaves at all here? A Tree in full bloom outside our house..

How about a balcony bursting with life, around you?

The Lovely Petunias hanging in our balcony, and other flowers below..

Can you now smell the heady feeling I described?  Then, here is also a chance to revitalize our balconies and living rooms with some bright colors, with these simple ideas.

Idea #1. Painting pots of course is a very old technique to infuse color to dull faded pots.

My first batch of painted pots

If you are not interested in buying new pots for your plants, don't disturb them.  Give your pots a colorful makeover with glossy enamel paints available in the local hardware store.

Start off with cleaning them with emery/sand paper to remove the dirt and grime and smoothen the surface. Paint over a coat of white wood primer, so that you minimize the amount of actual paint soaking into the pots.  When dry, give a coat of your preferred color all over, but you could avoid the base,which will help the water drain off, and at the same time, leave the pores of the pot clay surface open to breathe. Check out the results when dry.  Normally one coat is enough to cover all the pot's "greys", but if you prefer an extra glossy finish, go for another coat and let dry.That's all!

Idea #2. Not interested in painting, or having no paints at hand? No problem! Place your pots in colorful containers,like these paper bins I found at the local supermarket (More Megastore).  And best of all, check out the prices!  The square ones I used here are Rs.79/- a piece and the round ones are Rs.49/-only !@! And they have several designs too! 

You could also try out placing your smaller pots in a vegetable hanger like I did here..

Ideas #3,4,5...  What if you want a textile finish, instead of a painted finish?  Christine Chitnis  has a nice tutorial by on her blog. That is my next project ;)

Tutorial @ Christine Chitnis

Some more pointers..

Decoupage Pots

Fabric Pots @ Emmaline Bride

Neon pots @Margot Potter

Laced Pots @ A Beautiful Mess

And if you fancy having your or your loved ones' faces beaming back at you with a head of greens, check out these creations at Good!  My, I was amazed at some people's imagination!  

Have a lovely Day:)