Container creations

Artist Stephanie Summerlin once painted "Fear No Art" on T-shirts. Her work in watercolors, graphic art, decoupage, furniture detail, container painting, and illustrating children's books shows she has taken it to heart. Summerlin designed these pots with a childlike quality in bright, contrasting colors and bold scenes and patterns.

Containers can be so much more than shelter for your plants. Zap your yard with style by treating your geranium holders as art.

Stephanie Summerlin, a St. Louis, Missouri, artist who has designed pots for art and plants, says, "People have this desire to express themselves in a new way, but something keeps them from going forward. That's the wall that they've got to break through. One of the quotes I love is from Vincent van Gogh who said, 'What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything?' "

A large container poolside holds towels. Small ones can hold votive candles.

Containers that do more

What better way to break through the garden wall than with terra-cotta containers that are more than pots? They're common, and you can use them a million ways.

Turn pots into tables or group them into focal-point ensembles. Roll ones the size of ottomans into the yard and use them as furniture. Hunt through nurseries for containers in bold colors to adorn the tops of walls. Start with some of Summerlin's ideas shown in these photographs or create your own terra-cotta decor.

Photographs: Alise O'Brien