Combine your love of plants and your creative nature with customised containers filled with beautiful flowering geraniums.
These can be used to elevate balconies to new heights of beauty, perfect your patio or bring that special touch to sunny shelves and windowsills. When the weather gets cooler in autumn, pots can be brought inside in true Pelargonsjuka style!
The trend makers at Pelargonium for Europe (PfE) share three unusual ideas for inspiring homemade craft projects.
Romantic lace
Geraniums are quintessentially romantic plants, which deserve more than just plain terracotta pots to do full justice to their beauty. With very little effort you can bring a charming vintage look to basic terracotta planters, which will not only make an eye-catching feature in your own home but also make lovely, thoughtful gifts. All you need for this simple upcycling project are terracotta pots in whatever size you prefer, lace doilies, lace edging, scissors, clear waterproof decoupage glue, brushes and flowering geraniums.
To make, cut pieces from the lace doilies and edgings to match the size of your pots. Apply decoupage glue to the pots with the brush, then glue the lace pieces into place in your desired pattern. Allow to dry. Apply an extra layer of glue on top of the lace to fix the pieces in place and give your pots a glossy finish.
Step by step image collection: https://pressdonkey.com/QtnexiMs
Jewelled brilliance
Noble geraniums are worthy of that extra special treatment when it comes to finding them a home. Enhance their natural brilliance with upcycled pots studded with colourful glass stones which evoke the beauty of gems. Even inexperienced crafters can create these in a few steps. You will need clean terracotta pots, scissors, self-adhesive fibreglass mesh or drywall tape, powdered plaster, water, an old container and a spoon for mixing, a small spatula, plastic gloves, colourful glass stones and beads and flowering noble geranium plants.
Step 1: Cut strips of the fibreglass mesh tape long enough to cover the height of your pot, plus a little extra to go over the rim.
Step 2: Stick the strips of fabric tape to the outside of the terracotta pot. This will help the plaster adhere better.
Step 3: Mix the powdered plaster with water according to the instructions. Ideally, use an old container you don’t need to keep afterwards. It’s important to use the plaster immediately after mixing, as it dries quickly.
Step 4: Put on the plastic gloves and spread the plaster mixture generously over the outside of the terracotta pot using the spatula to create a deliberately rough, textured surface.
Step 5: Gently press the glass stones and beads into the plaster. Be careful not to get any mixture on the outer surfaces. Leave the plaster to harden. You can remove any plaster residue with liquid citric acid, available from a chemist or DIY store.
Step 6: Finally, place your geranium in the pot and position it in a bright spot.
Step by step image collection: https://pressdonkey.com/QCiFp235
Concrete Jungle
With masking tape and paint, simple concrete containers can be transformed into stylish planters in no time at all, allowing colourful geraniums to really stand out. To create these customised planters, cover the containers with masking tape so the exposed surfaces create a pretty pattern. Press the masking tape down firmly so no paint can run underneath. Then spray the containers with waterproof paint and leave to dry. Remove the tape and plant up your finished vessels with easy-care geraniums. You can vary the patterns and colours of the planters to suit your taste and adapt them to any style.
Step by step image collection: https://pressdonkey.com/QHTa2mKW
