Colorful painted flowerpots bring pizzazz to your garden! (Not to be confused with pizza!) The best thing is you probably have what you need already around your home, an ugly boring terra cotta pot screaming for a bit of attention.  Do you hear it?  “Hey!  Please give me some attention! I want color in my life! Being terra cotta gives me the blahs!” 
Even if you think you don’t have an artistic bone in your body, be ready to be surprised.  For some reason, when you start painting terra cotta pots the creativity just starts to bloom! This is the perfect time to start getting your pots ready for Spring!
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Here’s what’s needed:

• Terra cotta pots, any size will do
• Outdoor acrylic or oil based paints
• Painting Clothes
• Brushes or fingers
• Clear finish paint or varnish

You can paint with your fingers, or brushes. Remember that the color you’re painting with might look a bit different once you paint it on the pot because the terra cotta color is so dark.  They also absorb some of the paint, so you might have to give your pot two or three coats to get the right look.  Be sure to wait for each coat of paint to completely dry before adding the next.
 
If the pot is going to be placed outside, add a clear finish coat or varnish to extend the paint’s life span.
 
Painting clay pots is also a lot of fun to do with friends.  It doesn’t take a long time to do, making it perfect for garden themed birthday parties.  Each of your friends at the end of the party can take home a hand painted flowerpot instead of the usual throwaway birthday baggie!
 
Once the pots are painted, varnished, and dried you can plant in them.  Be sure to add small rocks or gravel on the bottom for drainage and then use a nice soil mixture to help encourage healthy growing.  Don’t forget to water your seeds or new plant!
 
Adult Helper Note:  While painting, invite the young artist to start thinking about what they want to plant in their pots. Should they plant herbs or flowers or flowering herbs? What color plant do they want to grow in their pot? You can even take them shopping at a local nursery to see what plant looks best in their pot. ​

​Plants need the right sized pots like we need the right sized shoes! 
 
However, head to the garden center store and chances are new gardeners, especially your kids, will have no idea what size pot to buy for a new plant.  After trying to figure out how to explain it my kids, I decided it’s a lot like buying a new pair of shoes – so I helped them pick out a pot that was just a bit larger than the plant already so the roots would have “room to grow!” – just like we do when we buy a new pair of shoes!
 
If the pot is too big, just like if you buy shoes that are way too big, the plant could slide around too much.  Just like your feet flopping out of shoes that are way too big for you.
 
If the pot is too small, the roots will stick out of the bottom and they won’t be happy. Just like if you bought a shoe that was way too small for your growing feet. 
 
So when you go pot shopping pretend the roots are like your toes and try to find just the right size!