Dark clay vessels are a hot garden trend right now, but you don’t have to buy new pots to get the artisanal look.

Instead of the usual sphagnum moss or coconut fiber, line a hanging planter with canna or hosta leaves.

Create a rustic, richly textured presentation by planting moss or placing a vase of lush flowers in terra-cotta pots adorned with tree bark.

Organize plants and seedlings, and identify homegrown kitchen herbs, by painting the collars of clay pots with stripes of chalkboard paint.

Wooden sake boxes topped with plastic wrap can be used as miniature greenhouses for a gift of cuttings.

Clay pots gradually whiten with age, showing evidence of minerals leaching from water through the years. Here's how to get that charming, weathered look without waiting.

A layer of small, round pebbles arranged over the soil's surface looks as neat and tidy as a Japanese garden.

These leafy centerpieces look good enough to eat -- and they are. Keep them on a sunny windowsill when they're not adorning the table.

Make a matching set of vessels by painting metal cans in muted hues.

For cheerful containers, stain pots in colors that complement their contents.

We gave these terra-cotta pots an aged look, then trimmed them with seashells.

A simulated patina helps faux-clay plastic pots blend in with those made from real terra-cotta.

Give new life to old terra-cotta pots by painting them to create coordinating stripes.

Newly snipped mint leaves make a refreshing garnish for summer drinks, and this outdoor chandelier keeps the herb within arm's reach.

Unsightly sticks and flags look like trespassers in your herbs. Instead, make tags out of flat, smooth stones that appear as though they belong in your landscape.

Vines appear to defy gravity -- and let your wall show through -- when they climb without supportive woodwork.

This window box alternative showcases your flowers -- and their pots.

Create an attractive multipurpose garden shelf. Use the surface as a staging area for plants on their way to the garden, to showcase smaller specimens that might get overlooked on the ground, or to provide a spot where houseplants can get fresh air and sunlight in the summer.

This hinged trellis swings open, making it easy to clean or paint behind latticework.

This lush warm-season screen is created with lengths of chain between pairs of copper K-style gutters, which have flat backs.

You don't need a lakefront property to enjoy the benefits of backyard water. Stacked pots filled with a pump and filled to the brim produce sounds reminiscent of lapping waves.
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