Make supermarket plants pop!

Take plastic potted spring blooms from blah to beautiful in minutes with these quick and clever displays

To add cottage chic: A blue blooming basket

“The colors of this multi-hue hyacinth arrangement are so soft and lovely,” says Jessica Walliser, author of Container

Gardening Complete. “And placing little violets around the larger blooms’ bases holds the heavy flowers in place—and helps cover the top of the soil to make the hyacinths appear to be planted directly into the basket.” To create this display, set two 6" pots of hyacinths in a handled market basket, then fill with smaller containers of violets. Keep the soil moist.

To go modern: Grape hyacinths in glass

“Grape hyacinths are so sweet!” says Walliser. “The diminutive blooms, which grow to 6" to 10" high, look stunning here, and a glass container makes the monochromatic arrangement more eye-catching.” Simply line a shallow glass bowl with Spanish moss or sheet moss, then place the potted grape hyacinths in the center and cover with more moss to hide the rim of the pot, she suggests. Place them in a cool room in bright but indirect light. Water when the soil feels dry.

To boost whimsy: Stacked bulbs

“A triple-tiered container showcasing a variety of bright blooms creates a fun centerpiece for a party,” Walliser says. To re-create this arrangement, you’ll need a 12", an 8" and a 4" terra-cotta pot. Fill the largest two pots with soil, then replant potted lavender crocus and blue scilla into them, keeping the flowers around the outer edge and leaving the center of the soil bare. Drop a primrose, still in its original container, into the smallest pot. Then stack the three containers, and finish by winding dried decorative grass around the lower pot. Keep the display out of direct heat and light, and water when the soil feels dry.