This Brilliant Plant Hack Gives You Instant Curb Appeal (It’s So Easy!)

Freshening up your entryway for spring can mean hanging a seasonal wreath, replacing old sconces with new ones, or even just swapping out a doormat. But often, spring refreshes for the front door will include some plant life, too. You can always design your own container gardens, but sometimes it’s nice to cut corners and save your time for a different project.

That’s why I was so impressed with this viral TikTok (over 650k likes and counting!) from user @gracelyndurham. Instead of buying a variety of annuals to place in her oversized front door planters, she simply plopped pre-planted hanging baskets inside, cut off the hooks, and called the project done.

I love this idea for a couple of reasons. First, hanging planters are cheap and readily available. You can grab them at grocery stores — even at beloved bargain stores like Aldi — as well as nurseries, garden centers, and hardware stores for as low as $15 a pop (although nicer ones can go for closer to $40 each). While you can also find pre-planted tabletop pots, they’re not as common and variety is more limited.

Second, while the old-school plant combo of “filler, spiller, and thriller” — that is, something voluminous to fill the pot, something that will trail over its sides, and something that will add some height — is still popular among many as a rule for filling porch planters, I find it can look a little dated. But hanging baskets usually put the focus on trailing plants that provide lots of volume and interest without the added height spike, which I think looks a little more modern.

In the video, the TikToker uses snips to cut off the hanger, but most hangers will easily clip on and off, making this project completely tool-free. The only thing you’ll need to be mindful of is adding something inside your planter to give the hanging pot a boost. One quick way to do this is by turning another plastic grow pot upside down, setting it inside your planter, and adding the hanging pot on top. If you don’t have a grow pot handy, ask your local nursery or garden center if they have any they’re planning to throw out that you can take home.

I can’t wait to start scoping out hanging planters so I can use this hack to fill my own oversized pots at my front door. All the time I free up can go into weeding my yard!