Keeping outdoor area looking neat?

[Fish n Plants]

Hey everybody!

As the title stated, how do you keep an outdoor area with many plants looking neat? I don't have many plants right now, but I can see it becoming a problem in the future. Has anyone made some sort of outdoor shelf/rack to organize your plants? Pictures would be awesome!

Thanks,
Fish n Plants

 

[Exo]

Neat?.....what's that?.....N-E-A-T....nope, never heard of it.

 

[That One Guy]

Brie's outdoor area is pretty neat, you could ask her. ;D

 

[lil hokie]

I am thinking about getting some shelves. I just recently swept all the falling leaves off the deck so right now it looks as neat as its ever been.

 

[dueoka]

I keep my nepenthes outside on simple benches. They consist of two cinder blocks about four feet apart with four 2x4's on top. One bench holds about twelve one gallon plastic pots. They work fine for me and are cheap and easy to make.

 

[Fish n Plants]

Exo:

dueoka: The benches seem like a cool idea, got any pictures?

The only problem I can think of with a shelf is it getting knocked over in a storm, by animals, etc...

 

[dueoka]

Here you go!

 

[Brie]

I use those heavy duty plastic storage shelves that you can buy at most hardware stores.. I break em down to just single shelves and use them as benches..

From early last spring

more recent LOL

 

[Fish n Plants]

Brie and dueoka: Thanks, the pictures gave me a lot of ideas. Do you guys have any problems with things getting knocked over during storms/windy days?

 

[Brie]

Only problem I have, especially with being in a top floor apartment, is the wind breaking my pitchers. It always happens with my particularly tall cultivars like Doreen's Colossus. First windstorm of the year snaps all the pitchers in half. Grrrrr. But as for knocking pots off, no. Being tightly grouped helps with that.. And being waterlogged, in trays.. Makes the pots pretty hard to move.

 

[Keith]

Those benches filled up nicely in the time-lapse Brie! Do you ever have problems with wind damage or are the pots/plants heavy enough to maintain stability in a storm?

 

[Brie]

Those benches filled up nicely in the time-lapse Brie! Do you ever have problems with wind damage or are the pots/plants heavy enough to maintain stability in a storm?

See previous post. And yeah, haha.. I went craaazy with the sarrs this year.

 

[Fish n Plants]

Ahh so jealous of your Sarrs, especially Doreen's Colossus! Sucks that the pitchers get broken though... I think I'll make a simple bench but use the water trays that you have, where did you get them and what were they labeled as?

dueoka: Are the 2x4s secured to the cinder blocks in any way or just sitting on top?

Thanks for all the help guys

 

[Brie]

They're just the run of the mill black water trays that you find everywhere.. Mondo Trays are one of the better brands..

 

[dueoka]

Brie and dueoka: Thanks, the pictures gave me a lot of ideas. Do you guys have any problems with things getting knocked over during storms/windy days?

Nope, the benches are fairly low to the ground. Those gallon pots full of media are pretty heavy.

On a side note, hanging nepenthes is a good way to keep things looking neat.

 

[Nepenthesis]

My greenhouse gets really messy with crap like paper towels, plastic wrap, rulers, scissors, water jug caps, ect. I have throw a bunch of junk away every little bit. I'm doing better with it now that I only have CPs in there.

 

[Fish n Plants]

Haha thanks everyone, I'll post some pictures when/if I finish