Holiday gardening!

Now is a great time to get your home and garden ready for holiday visitors, so here are some pots and metalwork to add glamour.

The summer holidays are around the corner, and with them will come long-overdue time with family and friends. Meals will be shared and afternoons spent catching up over drinks on the patio or under a tree in the garden, so you want your outdoor space looking its absolute best.

First Dutch Brands has expanded their pot and metalwork offerings with some beautiful new designs that will make sprucing up your garden and living spaces that much easier.

If you prefer muted, earthy tones and modern lines, the Era range of pots should definitely be on your holiday shopping list. Available in colours such as Sand, Black, Dark Grey, Grey and Light Grey, they will no doubt add a touch of elegance to your plant display without detracting from the plants themselves. They also come in different sizes (large: 21.5cm x 23cm; medium: 14.5cm x 17.5cm; small: 12.5cm x 13.5cm), so can be grouped either in clusters of the same size or differing sizes, in the same colours or a mix of the three complementing colours.

And if you love the style of the Era but think you need more impact, have a look at the textured range. These are the same size and shape as the earthy, untextured Era pots but have a beautiful dimpled relief, and come in more vibrant hues such as gold and white.

The additions to the First Dutch Brands‘ ceramic range continue with the classically styled Tusca pots. The real appeal of these pots is the selection of colours, with everything from matt blue to white to red and blue, as well as bright options like yellow, pink and orange. Just imagine a few of the small Tusca pots on a dining room table, planted with succulents. Like the Era, the Tusca style comes in a selection of sizes: 7cm x 8cm, 13cm x 13.5cm, 16cm x 17cm and 20cm x 22.5cm.

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Remember, while these pots can be planted in, they can also be used as pot covers, so that you can chop and change the plants that you display with those that are growing in more hospitable conditions elsewhere in the garden.

Early summer is also a great time to get climbers into your garden, where they can be used to screen off unsightly areas like drains or air-con units, or to break up a big boring wall. The easiest way to do this is to use a trellis, and First Dutch Brands has expanded their trellis range with a few new designs. There is the Arrow design, which is pretty enough to be attractive even before the creeper gets going. It comes in two sizes: 30cm x 91cm and 40cm x 120cm. There are also two Diamond trellises, one for narrow spaces (20.3cm x 152.4cm) and the other for larger spots (61cm x 182cm). Any of these with a beautiful flowering jasmine, simply bursting with that unforgettable fragrance, will add so much romance to your evenings.

Finally, there is a new collection of metal pot stands in convenient sizes. They are strong and sturdy without being bulky, so won’t take up too much visual space in your outdoor area, but will allow you to display your beautiful new pots and plants off the ground where they can be seen and appreciated.

If you’d rather display a number of smaller pots, First Dutch Brands has a new metal shelf for exactly this purpose, as well as a single pot wall mount for pots of differing sizes. These can be mounted in a row or one below the other on a narrow wall, perhaps between doors or windows for an effective floral display. They are also perfect for potted herbs just outside the kitchen door or near the braai area.