• Get creative with landscaping around your lamp post.christmas lamp post image by sonya etchison from Fotolia.com
  
  Avid gardeners and green thumb enthusiasts can envision a new flower, shrub, tree or garden in almost every corner and space available. An outside stair railing, a corner of the back yard or 2 feet of space outside an entrance will easily accommodate a few plants or flowers. A light post outside a front porch or at the end of a driveway presents an irresistible opportunity to plant a mini garden or grow a vining plant.
  
  

Clematis

• Clematis is a slow-growing, climbing, perennial flower with different color and size flowers. It requires rich, well-drained soil, which has a covering of mulch, and regular watering. If the soil around the lamppost is hard packed or sandy, add organic matter like compost and topsoil before planting. Alternatively, plant the clematis in a large pot next to the lamppost. Train the clematis vines to grow up the post with twine or strips of cut up nylon hose. Feed clematis regularly with plant food for flowering plants.
  
  

Rose

• The queen of the garden is a beautiful ornamental plant that provides a showy display. Choose a rose in a favorite color in bush variety to plant in front of the lamppost or a climbing variety to grow up the lamppost. Roses require rich soil and regular feeding and watering. Put thick mulch all around the planted rose to protect it from the elements and keep the roots moist and shaded. Watch for blemishes and abnormalities on the leaves and take care of them as soon as they are observed.
  
  

Ornamental Grass

• For a different look in front of your lamppost, plant ornamental grass. Many grasses have clean upright growth habits that complement the vertical space of a lamp post and unusual seed heads or leaf patterns. Plant two or three of the same grasses or select a couple of different varieties. Grasses need little care and provide visual interest well into the winter months. Most ornamental grasses are perennials that return every spring, but some are annuals, which grow easily from seed.
  
  

Lilac

• Lilacs are favorite shrubs for their lavender blooms and delicious fragrance in the springtime. A dwarf lilac bush planted in front of a lamppost adds springtime flowering and pretty leaves until autumn.
  
  

Daisies and Baby's Breath

• A nostalgic combination of daisies and baby's breath creates a pretty picture all summer long. Two inexpensive plants from a greenhouse or garden center planted at the base of the lamp post or in a large planter create an attractive, white-flowering display.