You should prepare your peat pots and seedling trays if you are getting ready for the next growing season. You also need to have a stash of plastic flower pots that will receive your transplants. The lowly plastic pot is meant for this boring but necessary gardening and planting task. However, there are some outside the box uses of the humble plastic pot that can be used as a gift to a gardening friend.



Since a plastic pot does not have the same charisma as a clay pot, it is less expensive than its terracotta counterpart. Now, that doesn't mean that it can't be dressed up to the nines, and give a terracotta pot a run for its money. The plastic flower pot can hold its own in a variety of situations and with the addition of a little “lipstick” you will get a terrific and artistic gift item.

Clay flower pots let air out through the pores of the clay, which means that water is lost through evaporation. This means that you need to water it more frequently. On the other hand, a plastic flower pot tends to retain the water because it's non-porous. However, the plastic pot lacks the aesthetic looks, even if it is more efficient to the care of the plant you're growing.

You need to dress up the cold plastic look to make it more appealing as a gift. This is where your creativity comes into play. For instance, you can use acrylic paints to create a theme for your garden of kitchen herbs if you're planning a windowsill full of herbs. You can also decorate each tiny plastic flower pot with your own design and color scheme to make a more attractive effect. Each green herb can be glorified right within its container with the use of just a few colors in coordination with your kitchen colors.

You can also make a single houseplant stand out with a painted plastic pot. A fern that is hanging in the bathroom will look much more impressive in a hand-painted plastic flower pot of your own design. A plain old plastic pot can make an original gift out of an ordinary house plant with the addition of a hand-painted, original design. Using a violet motif on the lowly plastic flower pot sets the plant apart from the run-of-the-mill florist's offering.

A new take on the plastic flower pot is just a brush stroke away. It would be smart to start with a small project and see where it takes you. If you use your creativity and invest some of your time in it, then painting the plastic pot can become a rewarding and interesting hobby.