something pretty in pots for outside front door?

[mscellophane]

I would like to put 2 pots outside front door with something nice to look at over the summer.

The area is in direct sunlight most of the day, we tried hydrangeas last year but they just fried

What would you recommend? It needs to be easy to look after as I don't have a green thumb and usually manage to kill plants

Geraniums?

Petunias might be nice.
Or even roses, if you have big pots.
Or dwarf sunflowers.
Or lavender maybe they can take a bit of dry heat.

Olive trees like sunshine and make me feel like I'm in the Med.

Cosmos daisies are fun.

Any colour preferences? Do you want pretty and tumbly, or elegant shapes?

Rosemary when it blooms?

Butterfly lavender is very pretty and easy to look after, or nasturtiums don't need much care.

Lupins can work well in pots too.

Red geraniums

Whatever you plant, you will need to water daily, come rain, come shine. Dried out pots are a bugger to rehydrate.

I want to try some of those things where you upend a water bottle into the pot. I meant to last summer but never got round to buying the stuff.

tLDR: really big pots, water and feed and pretty much anything will survive., pot must have drainage.

Use the biggest pots you can, that’ll reduce watering, add those water crystals and pellet plant food to the compost (or use a compost that already has those added for baskets or tubs). Geraniums will survive most things!

But you have to water, even if it’s raining.

Also think about using a pretty outer pot and putting the plants in a cheap plastic one that fits well inside as then you can easily swap them out.

You’ll need to feed them over the summer too, compost nutrients lost only about six weeks.

I’ve got erysium mauve Bowles a perennial wallflower in pots, lasts all summer and the bees love it.

Hydrangeas don’t do well in full sun

Bulbs do and are easy

Start with tulips, then dahlias - Google bulb lasagne

Use big pots, at least as big as a builders bucket. Put a plant saucer under the pot to help maintain water supply. Water quite a lot. If you cut the bottom third off a big Schweppes bottle and bury the top half in the pot with just 2-3 inches above ground, then water into the bottle, it will help get water down to the roots.

Use plants that like full sun, as suggested by PP.

Depends on the size you want, I've olive trees so they look the same all year round and I love them. They are very hardy, can stand up to heat, dry and cold.

I generally plant tulips in pots in November, then when they finish in May I take them out and plant Dahlia Bishop's children (sow inside late March). They are fantastic and flower continually from June until October.

Tulips and Dahlias last year.