Painted pots DIY. Prepare yourself for pot envy extraodinaire.

My little collection of garden pots has been looking very tragic for quite some time. Their Nanna flowers have lived long past their use by date. It was one of those annoying jobs that just kept staring at me saying, "Me next? Me next … please." But the sewing machine called and this little job went further down the queue, until this week. 

Why this week? Well, my overlocker decided to scream LOUDLY at me whenever I asked it to work, so it went for a fix-up visit. With no overlocker, I ventured outside to the tragic pot collection and after a quick trip to Bunnings and some painterly advice from the friendly man behind the paint counter, I came home with supplies. 

I'd watched the Better Homes and Gardens DIY segments week after week, so I had some idea of what to do.

Step 1. Cleaning.

I emptied them out.

Oh, hello, HUGE red-backed spider … and HUGE red-back spider's HUGE red-back spider friend. Yeewww. Sorry, you'll have to find new homes.

Gave the pots a good wash and set them out to dry.

They're a disparate crew, gathered over time. I wanted to give them some cohesion and style.

I'd seen the sort of thing I wanted in various shops ... almost bought new pots, then decided I could do a DIY job on mine.

Step 2. Base colour.

I wanted the grey, white and black look, so grey went on first. Easy.

The fact that I chose the first day of our heat wave seemed irrelevant. It was early morning. Only mid 30s. I could do this.

Step 3. First colour. White.

Day two of our heat wave. 42C predicted. I started early.

I chalk marked my basic design, then taped it off with the special blue tape.

I used more blue tape to make sure the rest of the pot was covered with plastic.

Grabbed the white paint and sprayed away.

Step 4. Quality control inspection.

Carefully remove the plastic and blue tape then hold your breath while the inspector does his job.

Inspection complete and passed.

Step 5. Second colour. Black.

Day 3. Cooler, thankfully.

Same taping and plastic-ing process.

Then, after around an hour, same removing of plastic and blue tape.

See that one on the right. Yiiick.

A bit too messy for what I was after, so I retape-ed and resprayed to try for a slightly cleaner finish.

Better, not perfect, but it's going to do. They're garden pots, not the Mona Lisa.

Black seems a little bit trickier to work with.

Step 5. Planting.

Off to Bunnings again for some plants, mainly edible ones.

And some treats for the ginger boy. Cat grass and, his all time favourite, cat mint.

I'd forgotten how much he luurrvves cat mint. He goes nuts over it.

Eating it, rubbing into it, talking to it … even before I can plant it into the pot.

Don't think it will last long.

And so, the final product of not very much work. Parsley, coriander, spinach, shallots and some pretty lavender for me. Cat grass and, what will be short lived, cat mint for Ralphter.

From this

to this.

An easy DIY.

Would I do it again?

Yes, definitely.

What did I learn?

In hindsight … the dreaded hindsight … I would spray the base colour, then I would use sample pots and a little roller for the first and second colour, that would negate having to cover the entire pot with plastic to stop over-spray. It would be much quicker and I think it would be easier to achieve a cleaner line.

Do you have pot envy?
I did warn you.

Have some pots you need to refresh?
Time to get started.

Is your cat a maniac for cat mint, like Ralphter?
Indulge that cat madness.

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