My patio was looking so tired and sad! It needed something to brighten it up but it is south-facing and very hot in the summer so I tend to forget about plants I have planted by the house! Instead, I decided to empty all the old pots and planters I had around the garden and make them into something pretty for this area.
My old patio
The patio is very old and all the cracks in the patio stones were full of weeds. Now I don’t mind a few weeds but I wanted to get rid of some of them. I won’t use chemicals in my garden so a good trick is to use a stiff brush and sweep away some of the plants and then take the stubborn ones out by hand.


Using what you already have
I have lots of old metal buckets and pots so decided to recycle these. I did have to buy a tiered plant stand to put them on. I got this one from Amazon. There are lots to choose from on there that vary in size and material. I chose this metal one as it is sturdy to hold this amount of pots and as it is metal, it is easy to clean.


What plants did I use?
I chose some plants that are Annuals (they won’t grow back next year) and some Perennials that I can transfer to the garden after the summer. Give all the plants a good water once they are in.
I used:
Scabious -butterfly blue P
Scabious -Pink mist P
Senetti deep purple (the daisy looking plant) A
Anemone de caen blue P
Anemone de caen pink P
Trailing Lobelia Red/pink A
Salvia Cardonna nemorosa P
Salvia Osfriesland nemorosa P
Lavender French pink P
African daisies A
The stand cost approximately £85
The plants cost £45
This would look lovely on a small patio or even on a balcony if you do not have a garden. The bees are already coming to the flowers and it definitely has brightened up this corner of the patio.
Now….I mustn’t forget to water them!

A blog about the renovation of our old house and it’s garden in the English countryside. I also blog about interiors, general gardening tips and visits to glorious gardens.
How cheery and pretty they look, Sophie xx
Yes! I’m very pleased with it. X
Brilliant … I have lots of lavender, and lots of old pots … I’ll see if I can’t rig up something for them to stand on – fab idea 🙂
Yes, I found the pots left all over the garden when we moved in! X
Looking fresh 💕
Thank you Adash. 😃
Oh silly me! I read your blog name as your name! Doh…..thank you for commenting!
You’re welcome 😊 and thats okay about my name 😊
Love it.
Thank you. X
what a beautiful garden, i’ve bought a wooden plant stand for the hallway in our house, we live in Dubai and it’s summer now so I’ve brought as much of the garden as i can, indoors …. PoCoLo
I bet that looks lovely. 😍
Good idea! I’m moving to a new house soon, and I’ll be looking for tips like this. #PoCoLo
I’d love to do something like this with a part outside our dining room table. However, we dream of extending one day as the kitchen and dining room are the size of postage stamps! #PoCoLo
That would be lovely Helena. x
I absolutely love the look of this and it’d look perfect in our garden! #pocolo
That’s great! It’s looking a little sad at the moment as we have had quite a lot of rain!!
I use the antique buckets and smashed ones on my picket fence. Some I fill with flowers. I like antique French signs in my garden too!
Ooh yes! Me too. X
I was trying to think of a way to brighten up my front porch a bit and came across this. What a good idea. Thank you for sharing at “To Grandma’s House we go”.
Lovely Amy. Glad you looked it. X