Pretty pots in a pinch

For those who are planning a last-minute outdoor party and need to quickly add a bit of pop, pots full of colorful flowers are a simple design trick that add a whole new dimension to any East End summertime get-together.

Plants in pots make delightful decorations for summer parties and al fresco dinners on decks and patios. Professional practitioners of the art of the container create dazzling designs in styles from minimalist to lavish.

Different types of containers make statements of their own. Barrels, urns and window boxes overflowing with blossoms capture the exuberant, freewheeling spirit of the season. Elegant ceramic, faux stone or Fiberglass containers, filled with the stately sculptural forms of evergreen topiary, strike a more coolly serene note.

It can take hours to assemble a large container packed with plants in a host of shapes and sizes in carefully coordinated colors. But pots of plants can be simple, too, and you can decorate your deck or patio with them in a snap for an impromptu dinner or when you haven’t got much time to spiff up your place before guests arrive.

For instant impact, put one big plant in a pot. Local nurseries and garden shops are full of big, colorful tropical plants now.

Hibiscus, available in bush or tree form, blooms all summer in shades of red, pink, orange and yellow. For a more exotic look, consider brugmansia, with its huge, dangling trumpet flowers in creamy yellow. If you want extra height, try a flowering vine on a trellis or tripod, mandevilla with pink or red trumpet flowers, yellow-flowered allamanda or morning glories (the ethereal blue blossoms of the “Heavenly Blue” variety are a favorite).

For a more formal, classical look, use an evergreen. Suggested plants include neatly clipped boxwood or Douglas fir, or a spiral or lollipop topiary.

For real drama, consider a red-leaved banana plant with its enormous paddle-shaped leaves.

If you’re in a hurry, just pop the plant in its nursery pot into an appropriately sized decorative cachepot and cover the top of the nursery pot with sheet moss. Pick a cachepot that matches the style and color of your outdoor setting—elegant urns or painted wood boxes for a formal or Victorian look, glazed ceramics in the color of your choice, or lightweight angular Fiberglass in a contemporary environment.

After the party’s over, your plant will probably be happier if you plant it directly into a larger pot.

On a budget? Group several small, inexpensive plants together in pots, planters or window boxes. Or deck a table with a flurry of small plants in individual matching pots—terra-cotta or whatever type you like. Mix in some candles for after-dark appeal.

If you’ve got a big houseplant—a ficus tree or a palm, for example—move it outdoors to a shady deck or patio and string small lights through its branches. Your space gains instant charm, and your plant will love spending the summer outdoors.

If you want to get creative and make up your own mixed container planting, you’ll need to combine several kinds of flowers. Get a tall plant for height in the center, some bushy ones surrounding it for volume, and smaller, more delicate fillers to plug gaps between the bigger plants. Finish with cascading or trailing plants to spill over the edges of the pot. Choose colors that harmonize (such as pinks and purples) or contrast pleasingly (blue and yellow, for instance). And be sure to use sun-loving plants or shade-tolerant flowers in appropriate locations.

Ask nursery staff for guidance on plants that thrive in sun or shade. Or, take a shortcut and buy a combination pot already made up and just set it out or hang it up.

Then pour yourself a glass of wine and get ready to welcome your guests.