Every since Mother’s Day I have been looking for a few plants for my front porch. Mind you my poor front porch has been the home to our new chocolate lab, Bear, since Christmas. He really did a number on our front porch and it was time for the baby…now almost 8 months old to transition out to his backyard fenced in area and for mama to get her front porch back!!
Isn’t he just adorable?!!
Back to the planters- my inspiration was my mother in law. She has a beautiful front porch and last year she had the largest fern I have ever seen! She even managed to keep the fern alive through the fall & winters months in her basement. IT. WAS. JUST. GORGEOUS!!! I wish I had taken a picture..it was unbelievable.
So began my hunt for a beautiful low maintenance fern and planter. After talking with my MIL I was convinced that ferns were the low maintenance way to go. I set out with the inspiration of her fern but with a
I headed out to Lowe’s to see what they had and of course everything was out of my budget as far as the planters were concerned. But I hit the jackpot when I ventured to the back of garden center and found the clearance rack full of plants. I found ferns for $2.00 a piece! Yes, just two dollars! I snatched those babies up and headed home BUT with NO planters. So these poor ferns in there generic pots sat on my front porch for a bit while I patiently waited to find the cheaper version of the high scale planter ven though I truly just wanted to run to Sam’s Club or Lowes to complete my project. But who can justify $200-$300 in planters for a front porch…certainly not me!
A few weeks later
I happened to be in Dollar General where I always run by their garden isle….especially in late June and July since this is typically when garden items begin to be marked down or put on clearance. I was lucky enough to find two of these planters for $5 each….although it wasn’t exactly what I wanted it was similar and I knew with some good ole spray paint I could get a similar highend look that I had been lusting after for weeks.
Can you see the nice little chew marks at the base of the planter? Bear boy decided to use it as a chew toy while I left it on the front porch for a few days. Ugh!!
I took the $5 Dollar General planters and painted them with Rust-Oleum Metallic Oil Rubbed Bronze Spray Paint. I made sure to give them two good coats and turn them upside down to cover them really well.
Doesn’t that Rust-Oleum Metallic Oil Rubbed Bronze just do miracles?!?!
Next, I had to cut the bottoms of my ferns off to fit into the urns and also to take care of the root bound they had…..clearance items might be a little more work but so worth it. $2 versus $20 is well worth cutting off the root bound! I had no problem taking a knife and whacking the bottoms off…..I might have gotten just a little carried away….see the broken knife!!!
Finally, I mixed in one cup of Epsom salt along with potting soil for each planter. This provides the much needed magnesium to fertilize and keep your ferns looking full and green. Then I placed the ferns firmly in planter with the potting soil mix, watered them really well and viola I had my beautiful inexpensive fern planters for approximately $10 each!
Take Aways:
- ALWAYS, ALWAYS check the clearance sections in the garden center and isles of Lowes, Home Depot, Walmart, Dollar General, etc. You will be amazed at what you can find.
- Wait until after Mother’s Day. Many stores start to mark down right after Mothers Day weekend. If you can wait until June then you will see even deeper discounts.
- Be patient…..had I gone out at the very beginning of the season I would have paid at least $20 per fern and who knows what for the planters…..at least $25 each.
Please comment below and share any of your great garden or outdoor finds.
Happy bargain shopping and planting!
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