Pots & urns can be used as focal points in a landscape design but proper planning is essential for functionality and convenience. By NJ 2013 Best Design Winner.
Does your landscape design seem to lack that “something special” you see in luxury landscapes around your area or online? It’s hard to guess what your landscape design may be missing without seeing it. However I do have a simple but often overlooked suggestion for anyone wanting to add interest to their pool, landscape, or patio design. In short, plan for pots and urns around the landscape design! Potted plants, sometimes referred to as container gardening, offer a very versatile complement to your landscaping ideas. They can always be added to your yard in interesting ways, but your best bet is to include them in your design process from the very start. Here are some tips and ideas for landscaping with pots and urns, specifically how to plan for pots and urns.
Pots and urns can be used as focal points, accents, or tools to lead a guest’s eye to your yard’s most outstanding feature. If you have an expansive patio space, potted plants can bring some life to the hardscape and provide color and contrast to natural tones of the patio. In this way, pots and urns prove themselves to be very versatile, offering you a myriad of color and texture choices.
The best outcome when using container gardening in your landscape design is achieved when you incorporate them into your planning and design, and not as an afterthought which is a common mistake. We always plan for the urns and pots as part of our design when we do a landscape or pool plan for a property and pots are envisioned as part of the theme. This leads to very specific and pointed uses for your pots and urns. If you plan for the potted plants, for example, you might have a pillar or pillars in the landscape that have the sole purpose of housing beautiful urns. The urns can have a formal, welcoming effect for a patio, or they can serve as a frame for some other type of focal point, such as an infinity edge water feature. Other ideas might include lining a pathway with fragrant plants for a nice effect.
The planning process might also include some thought about the style and shape of your pots and urns. The style will accentuate that of the surrounding landscape if planned properly. Depending upon your taste, this might include contrast so long as it doesn’t seem completely out of place. Size can be determined by scale and surroundings, and bear in mind the practical issues faced with heavily trafficked areas or obstructing nice views across the yard or home. We suggest including irrigation in the infrastructure if this is part of the design, and then we can also plan for methods to drain the excess water. Another important infrastructure element is lighting. For example if we design a masonry structure with urns, we want to make sure they are a focal point at night.
You can start plantings once you’ve properly planned. Similar considerations should be given with respect to size and style selections when it comes to plantings. Potted plants look beautiful with a variety of colors, textures, and heights. A single plant can really stand out as a focal point or add consistent color to accent the setting. You have a plethora of options, but remember that proper planning of pots and urns will always yield the best results. Don’t wing potted plants as an afterthought. Your landscape architect may have some very valuable ideas on how to make the most of your outdoor living space using pots and urns from the very start so bring this up in the planning process.
As always, please feel free to give us a call if you have any questions about pots and urns or any other landscaping ideas you may be bouncing around right now.