Gardens: Wedding Day Planter

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The Yankee Crafty B*tch teaches you how to put together a Maine-inspired planter.

Late summer and fall weddings are such a wonderful time with family and friends. From the picturesque coastline to the Great North Woods, Maine is a major destination spot for weddings. The warm breezes of the afternoons are wonderful for the ceremony and the cooler nights allow dancing to continue until sunrise.

My brother, Andrew, a New Hampshirite, is marrying Emily, a Mainer. My parents, with great generosity, have opened their New Hampshire home for the wedding. Emily, who is from Belfast, Maine wanted to bring a little Maine home to New Hampshire. We talked about how we loved all the planters filled with red geraniums that are a staple on Maine households’ doorsteps and late this August we saw the most beautiful arranged planter in Downtown Bath, Maine.  We knew instantly that the arrangement of red geraniums and vinca vine would look wonderful around the house and grounds for the wedding. I snapped a photo and headed home to my local nursery.


What you’ll need:

I picked out the plants and flowers that were in the photo and grabbed a whole flat of each. I then got a 2-cubic foot bag of potting soil and 3 large pots and piled it all in my car and drove slowly home. After about 1 hour of joyful work with Emily, we were more then pleased with the arrangements sitting on the doorstep…here comes the wedding! 

Note: The plants we chose were in season and looked healthy. As the season turns to late summer and fall, nurseries still have a ton of plants and flowers. Mums are a great flower for late summer planters and they last till the first snow!





What to do:

Using a large plastic tub as a workspace helps with mess and helps conserve the precious potting soil when you are planting.  Place the bag of soil in the tub. Carefully open the bag and dump out the soil into the tub.

Then, place the planters in the tub of soil. Fill the pot 2/3 full, remove a plant from the plastic pot and place it in the planter.



At this point you want to “sight” the plant in the pot. The plant should be level with the top edge of the planter. If it is not (too high/ too low) add or remove some soil until it is even.



Once you have completed this, arrange the plants in the pot as you wish. I tend to place the tallest plant in the middle, the smaller plants around it, then the vine-like plants on the edge.



I packed the pot very tightly with the plants, so the pot would look full. Once all the plants are in the pot, add soil back around the plants with your hands, until the soil is packed lightly around and level with the edge of pot.

Water, water, water! Gently water the pot until the soil in moist to the touch (1 minute or so). Place the planter in a place where it will get half-day sun. And remember! These planters need to be watered once a week! IF it is really hot, they won’t mind getting a bit more.




Down East will be featuring contributors from all walks of Maine Life on DE Daily. Kathryn and Dash, the women behind the Yankee Crafty B*tch blog [2], will be bringing you the best in the world of crafts, food, sewing and gardens — all on the resourceful Yankee budget. So kick back, check out their posts, and get your craft on. If you're interested in contributing to DE Daily, send an e-mail to online@downeast.com [3] and tell us your ideas.