Lots of people have a pot or two near their front door to welcome guests as they arrive. And lots of people have really boring, or dare I say it, really ugly containers next to their front door. There is a home around the corner from my apartment that has a bunch of dead plants in mismatched plastic containers next to their front door. You don’t want to be that house.
Because of the front-and-center nature of front door containers, it’s probably best to plant something relatively low maintenance. You don’t want a few busy weeks at work to turn your front entry from “The front door is right here, next to this great looking container” to “Is their front door behind that overgrown shrub?” Although, if you like fussing with your plants (I’ve killed more plants with too much attention than neglect) then definitely consider planting something that needs a little more TLC.
Here are some ideas to help make your front door look great and unique:
- If you live in a sunny, dry climate, plant a tall (18 inches), aged-looking urn with a medium-large Golden Barrel Cactus in the middle and surround it with a trailing succulent like Burro’s Tail or a Stonecrop Sedum.
- A shaded front door would look great accompanied by a Colecous topiary.
- For a simple, instant container, choose a tall, slender pot and plant it with Fountain Grass.
- Plant a tall, square, contemporary-style pot full of fiber optic grass for a super modern look.
- If you’ve found an ornamental, trellis-cage, it would look great next to your front door planted with star jasmine. An absolutely divine smell would greet your visitors. Jasmine doesn’t need tons of pruning, but you should clip it occasionally to help it keep to the trellis shape.
- If you’re willing to do a little bit of upkeep, you could plant a large, round container with edibles that also happen to be beautiful, like Ruby Chard, Cabbage, Lettuce, Scarlet Runner Beans, etc. I think it would look great to mimic the very structured style of parterre gardens by planting the same plant in a ring around the exterior and then a plant worthy of centerpiece status in the middle.
I am sure there are tons of other great ideas for front entry containers. What do you have next to your front door?
