One of the most universally loved garden features is the container garden. Who does not love a container filled with colors and flowers, and overflowing with happiness and exuberance?
I was gathering some ideas of beautiful container garden designs, and just could not stop!
The best part is: we can recreate each of these stunning container garden designs. I am going to share with you a plant list for each one of these gorgeous container plantings!
Get ready for some botanical Latin and let’s decode these magical container garden recipes!
This will be part one of our container garden series, which are plantings for sunny locations. In a few weeks I will share with you some amazing shade gardens.
There is a magic formula in almost all these beautiful container gardens: Thriller + Filler + Spiller.
The ” thriller” is usually a big focal point plant in the center. The “fillers” are secondary plants that make the planting look full and vibrant. The “spillers” are plants that offer added dimension and interest by spilling over the containers.
1 & 2. Sculptural container garden plants.
The sculptural forms and foliage of the “thriller” plants in these containers offers a structure for all the filling and spilling container plants.
Recipe 1: Canna ‘Australia’, Canna ‘Tropicanna Gold’, Infinity Orange New Guinea Impatiens, ‘Hot Shot’ Orange portulaca, Begonia boliviensis, ‘Orange Marmalade’ Crossandra, Sweet Caroline Bronze Sweet Potato Vine.
Recipe 2: Dracaena or African Iris (center spike), Pink Geranium, Mixed color Trailing Petunias, green Sweet Potato Vine. (Source 1 | 2)
3 & 4. Edible container garden can be beautiful too.
Many edible plants have gorgeous and colorful foliage, plus delicious tastes! Here are two great examples of how edibles can be mixed with ornamental plants in garden pots.
Recipe 3: Red Swiss Chard, Helleborus ‘Sunmarble’, Heuchera, Fern
Recipe 4: Artichoke, Kale, Light pink Verbena, Dichondra ‘Silver Falls’, White Petunia. (Source 3 | 4 )
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5 & 6. A star trailing plant perfect for planter pots
Talking about spilling over, Dichondra is an easy to grow plant that just spills, and spills, and spills…
Recipe 5: Mexican Feather grass, Orange Gazania, Dichondra repens, Dichondra ‘Silver Falls’
Recipe 6: Succulents- Kalanchoe ‘Fantastic’, Sedums, Echeverias, Dichondra ‘Silver Falls’. ( Source 5 | 6 )
7 & 8. One Color container planting designs
A stunning container garden does not have to have all the colors of a rainbow. Sometimes variations of one color, such as the yellows or burgundy colors below, can look drop-dead-gorgeous.
Recipe 7: Durango Dahlia, Great Balls of Fire White Ivy Leaf Geranium, Yellow Petunia, Bidens ferulifolia ‘Bidy Gonzales‘
Recipe 8: Cordyline fruticosa ( Ti Plant ), Burgundy Petunia. ( Source 7 | 8 )
9 & 10. Tropical container plants
Bananas, Canna Lilies and Colocasias (Taro plants) are some of the easiest and most dramatic tropical plants to grow.
Recipe 9: Banana, Colues, Hibiscus, Asparagus Fern, Dichondra ‘Silver Falls’, White Verbena, Purple Petunia
Recipe 10: Canna, Colocasia esculenta, Papyrus. ( Source 9 | 10 )
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11 & 12. country garden planters and pots
A white Hydrangea bush or a few plants in different shades of green : simple and elegant.
Recipe 11: Hydrangea “Annabelle”
Recipe 12: Rosemary, Garlic Chives, Helichrysum petiolare ( Source: 11 | 12 )
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13 & 14. More is more.
Follow your wildest dreams when planting containers!
Recipe 13: Colocasia, Croton, Coleus “Strawberry Drop”, Sweet Potato Vine
Recipe 14: Canna, Dahlia, Salvia, Ipomoea, Zinnia, Osteospermum, Verbena, Petunia, Calibrachoa. ( Source: 13 | 14 )
15 & 16. Herbs and vegetables in pots
Rosemary makes a great center plant. Many leafy vegetables such as lettuces, beets and chards have beautiful and very colorful foliage.
Recipe 15: Rosemary, Lobelia
Recipe 16: Swiss Chard, Lettuce, Chive, Pansy ( Source: 15 | 16 )
17 & 18. Colorful Container Gardens
Glazed pots come in so many vibrant colors. They add a happy tropical vibe instantly.
Recipe 17: Hydrangea, Lobelia
Recipe 18: Mixed color Snapdragon, Salvia argentea, pink Petunia, Sedum ( Source: 17 | 18 )
19 & 20. Cottage Charm in pots
Hydrangeas, roses, geraniums and boxwoods are all timeless cottage garden classics.
Recipe 19: Hydrangea, Rose, Boxwood
Recipe 20: Pelargonium ( Geraniums) , Petunia, Lobelia. ( Source: 19 | 20 )
21 & 22. Hot Pink and Red Planters
These hot colors really stand out, perfect for those who love a vibrant style.
Recipe 21: Red Mandevilla, Pink Calibrachoa, Sweet Potato Vine
Recipe 22: Red Mandevilla, Orange Calibrachoa, Variegated Pelargonium ( Geraniums) , Pink Petunia. ( Source: 21 | 22 )
23 & 23. Purple and yellow plants in garden pots
Use shades of lavender, chartreuse and yellow to create a soft and dreamy garden.
Recipe 23: Fountain Grass, ‘Phloxy Lady Purple Sky’ Phlox, ‘Electric Lime’ Coleus, Petunia, Lysimachia ‘Goldilocks’
Recipe 24: Snake Plant, Yellow Snapdragon. ( Source: 23 | 24 )
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Happy growing!!
Sarah Althouse
beautifullll. I live in an apartment so I need to get creative with my gardening.
Julie
Ahh, this is making me want spring and summer so bad!! Gorgeous!
Karen
I am pinning this for spring. Way too cold and snowy here now, but I always sturggle to make them look balanced.
Arti
Happy New Year Ananda.
OMG! LOVE. LOVE, LOVE these containers.
I can’t decide which one to start with. But love the mix of herbs and flowers. I’ve not tried this before. Will plant some now.
Thank you for this treat. xx
Charity Barger
I saw thei dea of planting vegetables among the flowers at the Arboretum at PSU last summer. I love it!
Judy
I love these colorful floral arrangements plus the recipes for creating them! I’m going to take the info along to several nurseries to fulfill the beautiful arrangements you have posted! Thank you soooooo much!
ananda
have a great time at the nurseries judy!! =)
Dudie Sipe
Thank you for sharing these lovely container ideas. Thay are both beautiful and inspirational. Some of my most beautiful creations are things that are left over, and put in unusual or extra containers. I do have to say, that since my discovery of “potato vines” I put them everywhere, and find they just make a window box or container. When I pull them out in the fall, I have potatos on them. Does anyone else ?? Are they edible?? Thanks again!!
ananda
sweet potato vines are related to the edible kinds, but i read they do not taste very good! skip them! =)
Mo
Yes you can eat sweet potato vine. They are very nutritious and rich in vitamin B. Boil them in hot water, drain and dress with sesame oil, balsamic vinegar and roasted sesame. Enjoy.
Faisal
أعمال رائعة ونتمنى أن تكون هناك طريقة شرح مبسطة حتي يستفيد الجميع. مع خالص إعجابي
David Bruce
Beautiful container combinations.
I am interested in mediterranean plant combinations similar to the one with rosemary and lobellia. Maybe, Salvia officinalis with Helichrysum petiolare or Pelargonium graveolens with Thymus vulgaris.
izmir çiçek
Do bear in mind that lilies can kill cats! The pollen and water that had lilies in it, al parts of the plants can kill cats!
DEB
Fabulous and stunning! How do you get the spillers to grow that much. I live in Canada, the warm weather lasts roughly from June to Aug and I have never been able to get my potato vines or creeping jenny to do so well….”never” meaning in the last 3 years since I decided to try gardening LOL. Should I start with a lot? I use potting mix
ananda
hi deb, i have been to towns on the canadian border and they had amazing container gardens! i would start with bigger plants from nursery, and water regularly with liquid fertilizer! =)
Emogene
I grow my own sweet potato vines they are beatiful & you can eat them
Jane Anderson
Hi Ananda! Superb blog! Your beautiful ideas and container design are awesome. Thanks and keep blogging!