Summertime is fast approaching and with that brings holiday celebrations, family get-togethers, play dates, and much more! When you pull into our driveway you are first greeted with this side of our house, not our pretty front porch, and although there was a Welcome sign it was not quite “welcoming” or appealing.
I stopped into Walmart’s Garden Center and filled my cart full of a bunch of supplies to help create some welcoming curb appeal and of course that included some beautiful plants and flowers along with Scott’s Miracle-Gro supplies to make them thrive! All of these items (except the plants) are available online at Walmart.com for store pickup and many for shipping too!
Here is everything I grabbed – I love that you can grab everything from planters to home decor, to potting soil all from Walmart or Walmart.com
I have wanted to add 2 matching large planters to either side of the garage and these large black modern planter pots are just so good! Of course, then I needed some Scott’s Miracle-Gro potting mix and a bunch of flowers to fill them.
When potting new planter pots, especially large ones, you can use cardboard, recyclables like the nursery pots the flowers come in, compost like leaves and grass clippings to fill the bottom to help the planter pot not be so heavy to move and allow you to use a little less soil. I filled my planters about 1/3 full with yard debris/leaves then filled the rest with Scott’s Miracle-Gro soil. I have used and loved Scott’s products for years – in my raised garden vegetable beds, planter pots, indoor planters, and more! They have specific soil for every use – including potting mix that can be used for pots of flowers or pots of veggies, in-ground soil for flowers or vegetables, raised garden bed soil, and much more! Although much of it can be used for multiple uses – make sure to use the specific kind for the project you are doing for the best results.
I always follow this formula for plants/flowers to fill my pots – you want a Filler, Spiller, and a Thriller plant. Those plants can sort of overlap or fit multiple categories too. And you want to consider if they will be in part sun or full sun – my planters will be mostly in full sun, so I got all full sun plants.
My Spiller (but also could fit in the filler and thriller categories too) is that beautiful purple/pink plant called a Verbena – it’s also a perennial so I am hoping to winter it and have it come back every year in this pot. The Thriller or the plant with some height is another perennial called Dreameria Daydream Thrift. It’s the tall spiky pink ball flowers. And for my filler I grabbed some white flowers called Lobelia.
I also added some simple white Wave Petunias for some more filler (and they will probably spill over the edge a bit too) and some pink Vincas – those are both annuals but do extremely well in full sun and heat and are easy and inexpensive to replace each year.
Here you can see how I arranged them and planted them in the pot – I always put my thriller or taller plant in the center, the spiller near the front or to one side in the front, and then fill in with all your other plants and flowers.
That pink Verbena is such a show-stopping plant with its draping flowers, full foliage, and spreading capabilities.
When you invest in nice planters and flowers you really want to give them the best care possible to help them thrive! That starts with Scott’s Miracle-Gro soil, but Scott’s also has quite a few fertilizing options that again can be used with varying planting options from vegetable gardens, pots filled with flowers/plants, in-ground flowers, and even indoor plants!
This Scott’s Miracle-Gro Shake ‘n Feed is great for filling new planters because you can mix it into the soil as you are adding it to the pots and it continuously feeds your plants for up to 3 months. You can also sprinkle on top of the soil of existing plants or pots, work it in just a bit to the soil, and then water it in well. If you want a fertilize in spring and fall and forget about it, this method this would be a great option!
I have used this Scott’s Miracle-Gro All Purpose Food for several years – in my raised bed vegetable gardens, my in-ground plants, pots of flowers, and even my indoor plants. This is a powder that you mix into a watering can, and as you know I quite enjoy walking around and enjoying looking at my plants, so I love using this every week or two as I water.
I cannot wait to see these flowers grow and fill in and just add such beauty to this area all spring and summer long! I’ll have to remember to take an updated picture in a month or so and show you what they look like then.
I also grabbed a new outdoor pillow for this Adirondack chair, and a citronella candle to help spruce up this spot and I absolutely LOVE that new watering can. I prefer a watering can with a single spout especially when watering pots and indoor plants and this one is a really good size and holds a lot of water.
I love how cozy this spot turned out! We actually use this Adirondack chair almost daily as I sit and watch my little girl ride her bike and play in the driveway and now it’s cozy for us and welcoming to guests as well!
Several of these plants are pollinator plants for hummingbirds and butterflies so I can’t wait to see them flying around.
This area is quite a bit more welcoming now and I can’t wait to watch these planters fill in and bloom all season – they should be huge and abounding with blooms in just a few weeks!
All of the Scott’s Miracle-Gro products and everything else I used (except the actual plants) are all linked here – you can even do store pickup at your local Walmart for all of it and most of it will ship too.
So happy to see this post. I’ve missed you. Love everything about your house and yard.