This outdoor living area is an extension of your home and entertainment area, so choose attractive pots that add to your décor theme. Arrange them in well-balanced groups for maximum impact, playing with plant textures and colour.
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Vary the heights
Place a tall plant at the back, a couple of medium sized shrubs beside them and then surround them with smaller pots filled with a colour palette that complements your patio furniture.
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Play with shapes
Use lollipop standards to give height in a sheltered spot eg. Blue potato bush, mauve westringa and the indigenous pink anisodontea all flower prolifically.
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Liven up with colour
Hibiscus, Marguerite daisy bushes (Argyranthemum) and our own indigenous hassle-free pelargoniums look good and bloom over a long period.
![](https://blog.builders.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/add-shady-e1562249673199.jpg)
Add shady character
Hardy bougainvillea can be trained over a pergola to shield you from the hot sun and add a blaze of colour.
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Be bold
Barberton daisies come in a range of bright hues and also look good in vases.
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Create container ‘bouquets’
Mix contrasting annuals for splashes of colour eg. surround golden marigolds with white alyssum in low bowl-shaped pots.
![](https://blog.builders.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/ring-the-changes.jpg)
Ring the changes
When annuals fade, replace them with fresh plants eg. pink petunias and blue lobelia look good together.
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Don’t forget vertical spaces
Hang pots on walls or attach hanging baskets to brackets. Hardy asparagus sprengeri ferns trail beautifully over edges.