The first idea that comes to my mind is to coordinate the pots. Make them all one color or complementary colors and stack them so there are some large and some small pots in a grouping (not all in one straight line).

The fill, thrill, spill method works well. Arrange the tall ones to the back, the bushier ones to the center and plants that grow downwards to the front and sides - alyssum, angelonias, petunias, geraniums, greenery such as tarragon, basil, rosemary, etc. Since you are in Canada, you'd have to use what grows well in your region. Hope that helps.

Since my rose pots are all the same and are all brown, maybe the perennials/annuals should all be in different sizes?

It would be nice to put a hedge in front of the pots. But I'm not sure.

So maybe my roses shouldn't be together, but surrounded by smaller pots?

Carol
Thanks!

I have watched talented designers (which I am not) and I was surprised to see that they don't instantly come up with the perfect arrangement.

They try dozens and dozens of different things before deciding on one look! Sometimes they spend all day on one corner or one little area, rearranging, adding, and taking away. That gave me a little more confidence--sometimes getting a beautiful look is simply working at it until it happens.

So I started doing the same thing, (except without the talent) trying all kinds of different arrangements until I found something I liked.

There are some basic rules of design that help, like rows and uniformity and negative (empty) space gives a formal feel, while random groups can be more informal. Scale is important--you don't want tiny pots in a huge space. Color--you may want all the same color for a feeling of peacefulness, or a lot of different colors for a feeling of energy or movement.

And deciding on what feeling or impression you want the design to give the viewer -- a feeling of riotous lushness, spare formality, tropical, english, native, etc...is a good place to start.

Have fun!

The fun of having pots is being able to move them around. I place sticks of painted colors that match the flowings and cut paper shapes as such and just move them around dim the lights up and down check and....... well....... it goes on and on
Happy Holidays

Hmmm. Thanks for all the suggestions everyone!

I just had the idea of making risers for some of the perrenials in small pots (if I do that) so that I can have some height around the roses. Sounds expensive though.

I like the thought about just keep trying til I like it!

Carol

Making risers out of various sized native rock always looks nice and gives more texture and movement to the area. You can also paint lengths of board to use as "shelves" for your pots on the rocks and use grasses and rock around the placings to pretty it up and give it a natural feel.
Also, using things like hemp rope or woven products wrapped around the pots can look very nice and improve the looks of a boring old pot.
Don't be afraid to hang some of your small to medium pots in the air to give a lightness and other vantage point of the potted plant/rose/whatever.
Just some ideas I have tried that I thought worked pretty well.
John

My first read of the subject title
"RE: pot garden - help make it look pretty,"
led me to believe you were requesting advice on growing pot (Marijuana) and wanted to know how to make the planting look nice.

and maybe plant some things that grow down and drag along the ground..
creeping charlie, some sedums, or lobelia...
{{gwi:347359}}

it's not my patio but I sure do like it......

strawberrygoat - I can't see your picture! I like the ideas though!

Karl - you sure made me chuckle!!

Jon - great ideas, and I never thought of hanging some smaller pots! What a great idea!

Carol