Brightening up our front entrance with some new summer planters!

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Summer Planters @DownshiftingPRO

One of my favourite things about sunny weather has to be flowers.  All my friends know that I love them, they’re constantly popping up in my Instagram stories, and there’s hardly a day that I don’t stop for a moment to admire whatever budding blossom that comes across my path and I get to look at flowers at Lowes everyday!  I’m such a fan of flowers that I actually had to ask my friend back in Ottawa to send me pictures of this year’s tulip festival because I couldn’t bear missing out on the spectacle even from a couple hundred kilometres away!

Tulips-Summer Planters @DownshiftingPROTulips-Summer Planters @DownshiftingPROTulips-Summer Planters @DownshiftingPRO

You can’t imagine my excitement when I landed a job in the Garden Centre of a local home improvement store.  If I’m going to work in retail, why not spend it surrounded by plants and flowers?  Of course, it’s not always sunshine and rainbows as retail too often isn’t but I’m happy to be helping people love their front yards and backyards and wherever else they wish to brighten up their lives with some colourful blooms.  I’ve had the opportunity to learn so much about different flowers; which are perennials, annuals, suitable for shade, low maintenance, high maintenance, etc.  From the voluminous Begonias to the never-ending Petunia variations to the extravagant roses and daylilies, it’s so much fun to see customers come in and create their own unique combinations.

Every year my mom loves to fill the planters in front of our house with a new bunch of flowers and plants to brighten up the front entrance for the warmer months and this year was no different except for the fact that I got to help out!  I know that my mom takes great pride in her planters so I was really glad to be able to contribute to them even if only a little bit.

Petunias-Summer Planters @DownshiftingPROThis year’s colour scheme was a combination of cooler colours with most of the flowers being a shade of purple, a crisp white or a deep black with some yellow flowers to add a pop of warmth.  Let’s take a closer look at some of the selection:Tags-Summer Planters @DownshiftingPRO

  • Petunias in Easy Wave Silver: A white/purple petunia with a dark purple-ish centre. Grows well in full sun (6+ hours) and can spread up to 30cm in height and 1 metre in area if given the area.  Not the most flamboyant of flowers but the white with the purple accent is great in this combination of colours.Petunias-Summer Planters @DownshiftingPRO
  • Proven Winners’ Superbells Calibrachoa in Lemon Slice:  A white and yellow striped bloom  smaller but more abundant than the petunias.  Some of my favourite flowers in the garden centre!  Is it because of its adorable food related name? Maybe.  But nonetheless, a perfect accent colour for the planter.  Another full sun plant tolerant to summer heat that will last until the fall and doesn’t require any deadheading.

Planting-Summer Planters @DownshiftingPRO

  • Garden Treasures’ Petunias in Crazytunia Black Mamba: A dark velvety black petunia. By far one of the most popular buys at the store!  I can’t count how many times I’ve overheard customers surprised by the look of the petals on this plant.  It looks like they were cut straight out of black velvet!  As with the others, they bloom until fall and require watering about twice a week depending on the heat.Petunias-Summer Planters @DownshiftingPRO

Planting-Summer Planters @DownshiftingPRO

  • Lowe’s Stock in white: An upright white flower.  As with the white petunias, not the fanciest of plants but great for adding another dimension (some height)  to the planter.

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  • 10in colour planter with purple and yellow pansies: Just an extra planter for the side table accompanying the patio chairs.  Although being made up of nearly only petunias, this planter looks just as good as it did when we first bought it over a month ago!

Pansies-Summer Planters @DownshiftingPROPlanters-Summer Planters @DownshiftingPRO

Overall, I love the look of this year’s planters and hope to see it last throughout the rest of the summer.   If you’re looking to build a planter yourself, it’s not too late!  At least at my store we still have lots more plants looking for a loving new home.  Happy planting!

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This is not a sponsore post.  No compensation was recieved for this post.  All opinions are of DownshiftingPRO.com.  Just wanted to thank Lowes for opening up a store close to us and having an exceptional assortment of plants and flowers.


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Lauren Ibbott is a University of Ottawa student, blogger and freelance writer.  She frequently writes for DownshiftingPRO.  Please follow her on Instagram @Lauren_Patii  All opinions are her own. You can read more of her post below:

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Margarita Ibbott is a travel and lifestyle blogger. She blogs about travel in Canada, the United States and Europe giving practical advice through restaurant, hotel and attraction reviews. She writes for DownshiftingPRO.com and other online media outlets.