Front Deck Flower Planters

Last year, soon after we moved here and while I was still undergoing radiation therapy, my son and grandson built us a new front deck. Here's what it looked like last July.....

Molly Brown, our chocolate lab, started enjoying it right away. I didn't have many flowers last year but I knew I'd hit on a winning color combo with the hot pink petunias and turquoise blue railings. So this year I went all out/completely crazy.

THIS year I've got a few more flowers, lol! Everything is in roomy planters so I can move them around as each pot fills in with colorful blooms.

I've redone that wreath at least 4 times and I really like this fresh green look. The glass marble balls are sitting on a candelabra built by the Welding Man. The corner plant stand is also one of his designs. On the top shelf is another marble covered ball in the perfect turquoise color.

More petunias in box planters, with creeping jenny and sweet potato vines. Needlepoint ivy on trellis towers built by the Welding Man. More planters with petunias, alyssum, dianthus, snapdragons, coreopsis and impatiens. And, of course, more blue glass marbled garden balls!

I love the golden lime green contrast of the creeping jenny against the hot pink flowers. Lavender, petunias, miniature roses, coreopsis, ivy, coleus and succulents are in these pots along with more balls and garden art. The green glass globe in the bottom planter is a "crackled glass" ivy bowl disguising a solar light.

I made the tall pillar for the blue garden globe out of a two foot length of PVC pipe. I glued on the glass marbles and other glass bits with Silicone II adhesive. The smaller blue glass pieces are Christmas ornaments which I've repurposed for the garden. The fleur de lis trellis tower is also the Welding Man's design.

Weed cloth and a layer of gravel keep grass and weeds in check around the groups of planters. I like the contrast of the exuberant plants with the zen look of the pebbles. This photo shows dwarf nandina, alyssum, succulents, "bamboo" grass, creeping jenny, dianthus, salvia, petunias, vinca and ivy on another tower.

I love how the cool cobalt blue glass cools down the hot colors of the pink and purple petunias. Can't have too many blue glass garden accents OR hot pink flowers!

This dining room chair had seen better days, so I dry brushed it white, popped the cushion off and found a planter to fit into the hole. Golden creeping jenny and dark green vinca spill over the sides and a pink snapdragon adds contrast. The Green Man planter is filled with ferns.

This blue ball is made from a bowling ball! The same Silicone II adhesive holds the marbles and sea glass in place. I am always on the lookout for different size balls to use in the garden, with and without glued on marbles. I've used different sized Christmas balls, styrofoam balls, light globes and ivy bowls. Anything spherical will work!

So pretty! Many of the plants I've used will return next year and the petunias are easily replaced each spring. The creeping jenny and ivy are so prolific that I'll be dividing them into even more containers next year. And of course, the blue garden balls will look good all year long.

Between a HUGE amount of family activities, my continuing treatment, my Etsy shop and this front yard project, my time has disappeared in great chunks. But as you can see, I have something to show for the time spent outside.

AND, this year we've planted all our vegetables in big planter pots in another part of the yard. Gardening in planter pots works so well for me, next year I plan to use even more. Because with beautiful plants and flowers, more is better, right? I'll let you know when I reach my limit!