By Sonya Weiss - Decorating On a Budget
There is such a peace and a beauty that surrounds flowers. Watching butterflies dance among a yard full of blooms can be very relaxing.
No matter where you live, you can enjoy this natural beauty.
When you live in a setting where you can’t plant flowers-for example a rental house or an apartment complex-you can still enjoy a blooming flower filled porch or a balcony flower garden. You don’t need a lot of space for it either. All you have to do is think of groups.
The photo with this column is one example of how to group plants together to create a flower garden and instant visual appeal. However, what’s wrong with the way these plants are grouped is that they’re all set up in a staircase format which is not appealing. They’ve all been planted in the same color and style pot and there is no color other than green to any of the plants. Always remember that sameness in a flower garden is equated with boring.
To create an appealing potted plant flower garden, you’ll need pots in a variety of shapes, heights and colors. You don’t have to break the bank to get these pots either. You can find some great buys at flea markets, thrift stores and yard sales. You’ll also need plants offering just foliage as well as those that have colorful blooms or have red colored leaves. You can buy these a home and garden store or even ask for cuttings from family and friends.
Before you arrange the pots, decide if you’d like your garden to be in the shape of a semi circle, bleacher style or spilling forward in a wildflower arrangement.
If your area is open and the plants can be viewed from either side, then you’ll want to arrange your plants with the tallest ones in the middle and the shorter ones on the front and again on the back. If the back of your garden will be against a wall, arrange the taller plants in the back.
Happy Decorating!
Sonya Weiss
From the time she was a child, Sonya spun stories to entertain herself and her siblings. Once she graduated high school, she put her writing aside and attended college where she studied Secondary Education, majoring in English. The writing bug never quite left her and once she had children, Sonya would write stories for their enjoyment.
A few years ago, her oldest daughter persuaded her to send a children's short story to an editor and to Sonya's astonishment and delight, the story sold. In April of 2003, she won Harlequin's Writing Round Robin contest. Since then, her work has appeared on various online websites as well as in her local newspaper.
Sonya currently resides in the beautiful state of South Carolina with her husband and four children and works as a freelance writer.
