Incorporating Your Mailbox

Welcome to March, the time to be preparing for April because the warm weather will have definitely arrived by then and it will be Lawn & Garden month.  While people are always focusing on their flowers and flower beds there is a part of many people's landscapes that unfortunately goes overlooked or which people get stumped by.  This common item which exists on many people's properties is the good old mailbox.  Many people sadly don't do anything with their mailbox and let it stick out like a sore thumb which takes away from the rest of their landscaping efforts.  The reality is there are numerous ways to make your mailbox far more attractive than it is and make it work with the rest of your property so that it isn't an eye-sore.

If you have your mailbox on a post then there are several ways to make it more attractive.  First one you can do is turn the surrounding area into a flower bed.  Then plant a flower in front of it which when fully grown will be almost up to the bottom of the container.  On the back plant an attractive climber which can cover the post from the rear.  Now instead of having an unattractive mailbox sitting alone it is surrounded with flowers and looks far better.  You can also install a decorative mailbox that goes with the flowers or your overall landscaping theme. 

In addition to planting flowers around your mailbox you can try painting it different colors.  The best way to do this is find flowers with colors that will complement your mailbox's colors.  These flowers don't even need to cover the post, the aim with this approach is to create a color design that is appealing to the eye and not make the mailbox feel alone and out of place.  If you're looking for an older more rustic style you can search for a wooden mailbox.  A wooden mailbox can be allowed to age and then have vines growing up its post which will give the feeling of being slowly reclaimed by nature.  Just make sure you're mail stays protected.

Another way to incorporate your mailbox is by moving away from the traditional post.  Plenty of people have found success by having the pillars at the end of their driveway which match the house's architecture work as locations for their mailboxes.  They can be embedded in the pillars or hang off the front of it.   This removes the need of the mailbox being its own entity and it blends right in with your existing landscape.  There are many more variations for implementing your mailbox into your landscape, so share pictures with us of what you've done!