When spring and summer come along I just want to be outside planting and digging in the dirt. I have visions of planters brimming with colorful, exotic plants and my garden filled with flowers all blooming at the same time. Full disclosure – I have a brown thumb.  I kill everything! I over water. I under water. Too much sun. Not enough sun. I never seem to get it right. Not this year! I decided to change my killin’ ways!

If you are lucky enough to live near Philadelphia or Westport, Connecticut  you may know about Terrain.

Terrain is a little bit of heaven on earth. The moment you walk in a sense of calm overtakes you as you take in the sights and smells of this beautiful oasis.

Here, I found the solution to all my problems. I enrolled in their Spring Planter Workshop. Before entering the workshop I took a stroll around the greenhouse for inspiration.

Our first task was to find a planter that we liked. We were then sent off to shop in the store for our perfect planter. A daunting task because every planter there is perfect. I picked two. One for myself and one as a gift.

Next, we lined each container with plastic so that it wouldn’t leak and would keep in the moisture. I also lined my wire basket with burlap to keep the soil from falling out. You were also given the option of using moss but I liked the rustic look of the burlap.

On to the fun part! picking out the plants. As instructed we were to pick plants and flowers that we thought complimented each other. We also had to keep in mind the height of each plant. If you had plants that were all the same height it would be visually uninteresting. Horrors! I found that using curly willow branches added both height and interest. Note: The curly willow will take root in your planter. Our last step was finding small decorations to place in your planter i.e.,  quail eggs, birds nests, tiny concrete rabbits, toads, or hedgehogs.

The Big Reveal..

My plan is to switch out the plants for each season. I will keep you updated on how it goes. After this workshop, I am hopeful that my thumb will be a little less brown!!