Unique Places to Plant Bedding Plants in the Yard

I have a weakness for bedding plants. Annuals such as petunias and lobelias, pansies, daisies, and more all find themselves crammed into every nook and cranny of my yard to provide a spot of color against all that green landscaping.

While bedding plants are traditionally planted in flower beds or as border plants along walkways, they can add color to some of the more unusual parts of the yard. Here's just a few of the off beat and unique places where I'll plant annuals to add color where a visitor might least expect it.

On and around dead tree stumps. Thanks to a tall fence and a narrow gate, we can't get a stump grinder onto our property to grind up the tree stumps of long dead trees. As a way of hiding the stumps, I've converted them to small flower beds. Stumps that have been sawed horizontally now hold shallow, 30" flower pots that are filled with creeping annuals such petunias. Uprooted stumps have been converted to miniature fairy glens which catch an unsuspecting guest by surprise.

Hanging from shepherd's crooks over the vegetable garden. To bring stunning pinks, blues, and purples to the vegetable garden, I'll line up a row of shepherd crook styled hangers along the walking path to support hanging flower baskets. As well as brightening up the garden, the mix of flowers attract bees to help with pollination.

From the clothesline. If you have an old style clothesline in the yard, you'll discover like I did that the crossbars can support several hanging baskets. This a great place to hang baskets filled with a pretty mix of creeping bedding plants.

In a wheelbarrow. I have a rusted out wheelbarrow that really isn't much good for anything, although it makes a dandy flower pot for annuals. Filled with a mix of colorful petunias, this creates a showy accent that can be tucked in the middle of a shrubbery or in the corner of the vegetable garden.

Around the base of trees. Rarely seen anymore, gardeners used to plant annual borders around the bases of trees as a colorful way to keep back the grass. My mother-in-law uses a mix of lobelia and alyssum for a striking combination that remains in bloom through early summer.

In found objects scattered around the yard. Over the years, I've collected things like spoutless watering cans, old galvanized slop buckets, hand crank ice cream buckets and other funky containers that have long outlived their usefulness. These off beat and unusual containers are ideal for holding bedding plants and can be arranged in unique locations around the yard. The crook of a tree, on the front or back stoop, balanced on a window ledge, or hung from the fence are just a few interesting locations that these unusual planters can be arranged to add color to your yard.

More by this contributor:
Where to find cheap containers for container gardening
How to design a rooftop garden retreat.
Low water flower varieties for long lasting blooms.