25 Simple Ways To Transform Your Patio With Flowers And Plants

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A patio upgrade can make your outdoor space feel so much more welcoming. There are plenty of ways to transform your patio, ranging from a full scale renovation to rearranging the furniture you already have. One often-overlooked way to redo your space is to add plants. The right foliage can make your patio feel beautifully lush and cozy. Plus, depending on the plants you choose, it can be a budget-friendly option too (it's often a fraction of the cost of a renovation). Plants can be the key element to creating an outdoor space you love, so we've rounded up some inspiration to get you started. 

You can use plants and flowers to add shade, shape, and color to a patio area. To truly transform the space, choose appealing plant types, incorporate creative layouts, and use nice planters — these are just some of the factors in the ideas ahead. You don't need a lot of gardening know-how or even a particularly green thumb to execute most of these patio plant ideas. We focused on simple projects that most people can DIY (no landscapers or gardeners needed!). Use plants and flowers to transform your patio with the ideas ahead.

A blanket ladder is a cozy living room decor piece, but it also has great potential if you upcycle it for the great outdoors. Use a blanket ladder outside to hold small planters. A wooden option is perfectly rustic and will blend right in with your foliage. Just keep in mind that if yours is an indoor ladder, you will need to weatherproof it for outdoor use. Use hanging flower pots to add your blooms to the ladder. Ideally, find an option with a built-in hook and drainage holes. For example, the Ogima Large Hanging Flower Pots ($25.99 on Amazon) are a good choice.

Gathering plants together can create a big impact, turning a section of your patio into a colorful jungle. You can easily recreate this look with potted plants. Choose a variety of plants in a range of sizes and heights to create an extra lush appearance. If you don't have many tall plants, you can also put some pots on plant stands to add eye-catching dimension. Choose plants with big leaves to provide abundant coverage. Plants like elephant ear, banana tree plants, and some varieties of palm trees are great options for greenery, and don't be afraid to incorporate some potted blooms to add color.

Instead of a shelf, you can opt for a charming wooden table. Compared to a shelf, it provides more space for you to place plants and other garden decorations. With a matching chair, it creates a cute cottagecore feel and is one adorable way to decorate your patio in an English cottage style. Choose quaint and delicate blooms to suit this aesthetic and pair them with cute birdhouses. Of course, you can style a table to fit other aesthetics as well. For example, a plain metal or concrete table and leafy plants will suit a modern patio.

It's hard to beat the stunning appearance of blooms fanning across a pergola. The only thing better is relaxing under its dappled shade. Transform your patio into a dream garden by growing a climbing plant around your seating area. If you don't have a pergola or the means to install one, you can opt for an arbor or arched trellis, though keep in mind that most are small and can't fit a whole seating area underneath. To help you choose your flowers, we've rounded up 15 climbing plants that look beautiful in an outdoor space.

A planter can be as decorative as the plants themselves, and that can be an advantage through the winter, when some flowers and greenery go dormant or die. It will make your patio area look even more beautiful year-round. There are planters for all decorating styles as well. They range from ornate terracotta planters, like the Clarisse Anduze Planter for $329 from Pottery Barn, to simple and sleek modern picks, like the Veradek Midland Planter for $69.99 from The Home Depot.

Don't count out mismatched planters! Mismatched planters can look less put-together, but maybe that's exactly the aesthetic you're going for. You'll still want the planters to fit under a similar aesthetic (whether that's a similar decor style, material, or color scheme), but you can mix and match a few types to create an eclectic display. The finished look is more casual and relaxed, plus you get to choose a variety of designs rather than having to narrow it down to one favorite planter.

This DIY project from @heycurtiscrew mounts planters on a plank of wood to create a wall-mounted herb garden. It's a relatively easy patio project and you can go beyond herbs; you can also use this idea as the base for a flower wall as well. The key is to use wall-mounted pot rings, like the Pennington Wall Mounted Pot Rings for $9.99 on Amazon. These rings are designed to hold standard small planters, so you can swap out the plants as you wish. It also means you can use plant pots with drainage holes, the best choice for keeping healthy patio plants.

Use plants to visually anchor a patio seating area. If your patio area is sparse, it only takes a few plants to frame its boundaries. You can place plants to delineate the entrance, placing a potted plant on each side. A plant in each patio corner adds greenery to the area, while keeping it minimalist overall. If you want a lusher look, of course, you can use more plants. You can create an entire natural boundary with a row of planters.

A lot of the plant-filled patios on this list are quite busy — maybe too busy if you prefer a tidier look. Unlike a "patio jungle" or layered plants aesthetic, opt for just one large plant on a minimalist patio. An eye-catching potted tree or shrub with pretty leaves or flowers is a great choice. You'll want to select a tree type that's suitable for container gardening, for example, a plumeria tree or bonsai tree, and choose a gorgeous decorative planter as well.

There's a good reason why hanging outdoor planters are so popular: you can add them to pretty much any patio space, and they almost always make it look prettier. If you can mount directly to your patio, you can use a ceiling hook or wall-mounted bracket. If you can't mount anything, there are a couple of alternatives. Outdoor Command Hooks cost $13.22 on Amazon, though they do have a light weight limit. If you have a lawn or garden beside your patio, choose a hanging stake, like the Artigarden Outdoor Shepherd Hook for $24.99 on Amazon.

Play with levels when decorating your patio. A mix of tall and short plants creates visual interest and can make your outdoor space look absolutely gorgeous. This inspiration from @sonja_ols is a great example. It incorporates small, low-to-the-ground shrubs and tall, leafy trees to create contrast between high and low. It has a lot of greenery in the middle, with taller planters and table-top plants as well. Since they're all in pots, you can always move the plants around to mix up your display.

Use planters to separate and draw clear boundaries between outdoor spaces. Not only does it look more natural than adding a wall or fence, but it can be cheaper too. It's also a solution you can DIY! There's nothing to install; you just need some tall planters suitable for the area you want to delineate. You can choose tall, leafy plants if you want to create a privacy boundary, but if not, you can use a wider variety to make a pretty planter bed.