Another vote against aluminum because it bends too easily, sooo dangerous to move. The reflective quality of the sides is great for plants, but can be blinding when a human is trying to look at it.
You could paint whatever container you choose, or glue fabric, ribbons, sand, twigs, buttons, stickers/contact paper, use your imagination & what you have around you. The style of the decorations in the garden would probably lead you in a similar direction for decorating the outside. :+)
There's a mini gardening forum here, in case you hadn't noticed it.
http://garden.org/forums/view/...
