Making a Perfect Pot

Decorate for Fall with the beautiful outdoors!

On a balmy September evening as I pulled into Perfect Pots‘ other location in Strasburg, I looked around and admired their quaint setting. The class was in a huge, old greenhouse with a giant assortment of colorful pots welcoming you at the front door. Some of the photographs I took before class captured the late summer light on the plants and baskets. Everywhere I looked were bright colored mums and pansies along with different hanging baskets, pots and other gardening tchotchkes or garden whatnots.

Hanging Baskets

Lydia Charles was our instructor and she did a fantastic job of explaining how to make a “perfect pot” for your home. Listed are the highlights:

1. Fill the entire pot with good potting soil mix up to an inch from the top and press it down. Lydia recommended Frey Brothers Professional Potting Mix as an excellent soil for pots.

Pots & Pots & Pots

2. Generously sprinkle two products over the top of your soil: Systemic Granules for insect control and Osmocote Plus – Smart Release Plant Food.

Sprinkling the fertilizer

3. Choose your plants. The fun part was Lydia said go anywhere in the greenhouse and pick out any plant combination you want. We weren’t limited by “class plants” but had the full range of creative choices in greenhouse! Lydia suggested by starting with a tall piece like a grass or a millet. Decide whether you want the large grass in the middle or in the back of the pot and then place your smaller plants either around the grass or in front of it.

Yellow Pansies

4. Dig out your dirt into smaller bucket (to keep your furtilizer and insectide) and place your large piece first. Make sure it’s where you want it and then repeat the process for the smaller plants. Add back the furtilized dirt into your pot and press it down.

Another lovely arrangement

5. Lydia suggested adding gourds and small pumpkins in the spaces between the plants along with cat tails or curly willow sticks for tall texture.

Add gourds for a fall touch

Adorable Fall Pot

I hadn’t planned on taking the class just photographing and writing about it but I couldn’t help myself. I used a basket as my pot as did Lydia which then has built in drainage. It was so much fun and a great idea for team-building outings, home schooler field trips and/or ladies’/mens’ club events. The possibilities are endless. I truly enjoyed Lydia’s instructions and the hands-on experience. We all felt at home to create our little fall masterpieces.

Lydia finishing her pot

My finished arrangment

If you are familiar with the area, the Perfect Pots here at Kitchen Kettle Village also offers classes as well.  They are often listed on our Facebook Event’s page as well as the Perfect Pots website.  Both Perfect Pots locations have so much to offer, it would be worth your while to check out them both!