Spring is here (whether or not it feels like it), and it’s time to spruce up the patio

If your goal is to use greenery to define an outdoor space, it’s best to go with simple planters in similar materials. (The Brice Extra Large terra-cotta planter is $179 at Rejuvenation.)

 Outdoor planters can transform almost any hard surface — a terrace, a balcony, even a stoop — into a garden.

“You can get that lush look, and really have it just about anywhere,” said Julie Farris, the founder of the Brooklyn-based landscape design companies XS Space and Landstylist.

But a hodgepodge of too many kinds of planters “can get to be a jumble, and look super-busy,” Ms. Farris said. So it’s important to start with a plan.

If your goal is to use greenery to define an outdoor space, it’s best to go with simple planters in similar materials. Ms. Farris sometimes uses long, rectangular Corten steel planters to create the architecture of a garden. Then she adds a few decorative pots for a softening touch and a sculptural element in the garden.

“Adding something with age or texture” — a planter with the look of rustic stone, she suggested, or a repurposed antique vessel — “is always appealing.”

• Should you cluster multiple planters together? Yes, said Ms. Farris, who recommended varying the heights: “I gravitate toward clusters of three to five — like a large one with two smaller ones to the side.”

·       Can you combine different types of plants in a single container? Of course, but Ms. Farris prefers sticking with one type. “You can just see the form of the plant more easily, and appreciate its color and texture, if it’s alone,” she said.

• How large should the planters be? They need to fit your space, but “bigger is actually better,” she said, because larger planters provide more space for root growth and natural protection in harsh weather.

Reprinted from the New York Times, May 2022