How to create a cascade of flowers with an upturned vase

An overturned vase that creates a cascade of flowers is an original idea if you want to embellish your garden with flashy stains of colour; and spreading more than one here and there will make it really colourful and fairy-tale! It's a decoration maybe a bit extravagant but really effective.

Instead of the terracotta vase or the classic broken amphora, you can also use other types of containers to create your own waterfall and maybe recycle them from objects you already have at home. Once, and maybe you've seen it from your grandparents, they used to use the old copper pots or wooden vats (for example this one, which we found online used at a good price) to plant the cascade geraniums.

To choose the type of container in which to plant your cascading flowers, consider the style of your house or condominium where you live and try to match your container to the surrounding landscape. If you are in the countryside, for example, terracotta pots or maybe an old bucket are fine. On the contrary, if you live in a very modern city building, opt for minimalist vases and futuristic materials with bold colors.

Making a waterfall of flowers is simple, just choose the container and plant inside it the varieties of flowers that you like best, better if bushy so as to make the waterfall rather large and increase the effect of color. Amphora or roundish pots are fine, better if large.

The decorative effect is obtained by semi-undergrounding the vase, a style found in the sea (you can also use broken or antique vases), and maybe surround them with other bushes or groups of low flowers, it will look like a cascade of flowers immersed in water!

Choose the location of your waterfall

If the idea of the overturned vase has convinced you and you want to realize it, the first thing to do is to decide where you want to place the vase. The only thing to pay attention to is the type of flowers you are going to plant; if they are flowers that need a shady area, the ideal could be to install your vase under a large plant, if on the contrary they are flowers that require a lot of sun, you can choose any point of the eye in full light, even in the center for example.

Prepare everything you need

To realize this project you need few things: the container (and as you have seen the choice is wide...), some soil, and if you want also some fertilizer for flowers, and water to soften the soil. Obviously better not to miss a pair of gardening gloves and a small hoe.

Plant the vase... and the flowers...

Now it's time to bury your container, do it half or less than its size, so that it doesn't risk moving when the work is finished or due to rain. Then plant the flowers and give it plenty of water immediately.

There are many flowers that are ideal for creating a waterfall; if you like bright colours, petunias and violets are fine, and if you prefer small flowers, daisies are perfect, but also succulent plants that will grow quickly and make beautiful flowers.

Some advice for the choice of the vase

As we have seen there is a wide variety of containers suitable for making a cascade of flowers in your garden, but depending on the material they are made of there are pros and cons to evaluate.

The wood

If you have decided to use, for example, a wooden planter for your waterfall, remember to give a nice coat of protective impregnation (not just once but periodically), as the wood absorbs moisture and could crumble and fade quickly. And if this is the right material for you and you like the style of mountain houses you can make a sort of vase with cut logs.

Terracotta

If you have chosen a terracotta vase, remember that this material is porous, and because of the evaporation of moisture the roots tend to dry out, so flowers planted in terracotta pots need frequent irrigation. The advantage of this material is its low price and its versatility. A tip: before planting the flowers immerse the vase in water, in this way all the air bubbles will come out from the terracotta and in this way the soil will remain damp for longer.

Stones and metals

These are very expensive materials and also quite heavy, so not easy to handle. But if you have chosen a stone vase or a metal container the advantage is that you can choose from a wide range of colours, which will perfectly match your home.