The Art of Selection: Crafting a Stunning Container Garden with the Right Plants
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BRILLIANCE
As garden centers burst at the seams with an array of plants in all sorts of pretty colors and interesting textures, the task of plant selection can at times seem daunting. But, following a few nifty guidelines and simply decoding the plant tag will help you select plants that will give you success in creating beautiful, lush, and eye-catching plantings that flourish throughout summer.
Assess Your Conditions
Before selecting plants, take a good look at your containers and their location. Determine how much sunlight they receive. Are they basking in hot afternoon sun or lounging in shade throughout the day? Plants have preferences. Some plants thrive in full sun while others might wilt, The plant label will act as your trusty guide here. However, remember, your unique lighting conditions could sway things a bit.
Evaluate Your Available Space
Are there space constraints? How much planting space does your container have? Create a template for your planter, fold it up, and bring it with you to the garden center to streamline your shopping trip. This will help determine the quantity of plants needed. Remember to consider the predicted size of the plants you are selecting. Again, the plant tag will inform you on this. Aim to space your plants close enough together to minimize soil exposure which helps deter weeds and prevents the soil from drying out while still allowing enough room for air to circulate around the foliage to fight fungal disease. This spacing will also assist in creating an immediate lush look. My guideline is to plant so the tips of leaves are just brushing up against another. As the season progresses, the plants naturally weave into one another, creating a spectacular display abundant with bloom and texture.
Hot Tip: Avoid planting your plants right up to the edge of the pot. They’ll naturally grow towards the light, eventually appearing to fall out of the pot and leaving empty spaces behind them.
Decipher the Plant Tag
The plant label is a gold mine of information
In addition to providing the scientific and common name of the plant, as well as its light requirements, and growth habit, a plant tag will give you a wealth of additional information. It’s a little treasure trove, offering you charming descriptions, hardiness details, flowering time, and even usage tips. It’s your cheat sheet for curating the perfect plants for winning plant combinations and pairings.
Plan a Simple Color Palette
A spicy color palette of fiery and crimson reds, orange, and shades of green
A straight forward but important design lesson when playing with container garden color composition, is to keep your palette simple. Identify one that resonates with you and stick to it. Color palettes that have proven to be successful are cool pastels (white, pale blues, soft pinks), deep jewel tones (magenta, tangerine, and chartreuse), warm shades (apricot, bronze, and deep plum), and spicy hot colors (red, orange and yellow). Whichever you vibe with, less is more often the best when it comes to color coordination. Only the savviest with color do well with using all the colors of the rainbow.
Select Shape for Impact
The shape of plants is as important as their colors. Thrillers, spillers, and fillers - each plays a role in creating container garden magic. Many of the most stunning container plantings consist of these contrasting and complementary forms. The thriller is often something tall, and eye-catching, adding vertical interest. The spiller as the name suggests, is a trailing variety, and cascades over the edges of your pot, softening the pot's edges. The filler is a mid-sized plant, often mounding or billowy that ties the other plants together with its texture and volume. All for making a picture-perfect composition.
A perfect illustration of this is seen in the above container planting featuring “thriller, Yucca gigantea, with its chunky trunk and sword shaped blue-green leaves, the trailing chartreuse leaved spiller Ipomea 'Marguerite' and Sunpatiens Compact Magenta, an incredible performing sun lover, as the deep violet filler.
Extend the Season
Incorporate evergreens that offer interest throughout multiple seasons and select both annuals – plants that usually boast color and complete their life cycle within a single season - and perennials, which return year after year from the same root system, providing long lasting bloom and foliage throughout spring and summer. Opt for early, mid, and late season bloomers to ensure a continuous display of color and interest, and foliage plants that offer long lasting appeal. Check the plant tag for information on bloom time to ensure a long-lasting display. Among my favorite long bloomers are geraniums, verbena, and cuphea. Many grasses also hold color and form throughout summer late into fall. Dahlias are also excellent for containers. They come on a bit later in the season but remain floriferous through September and require minimal care beyond deadheading.
Hot Tip – Plants labeled as patio varieties are often specifically bred for container culture and thrive in pots. Dwarf plants or those that have compact growth habits such as petite perennials won’t outgrow your containers as quickly and are excellent long-lasting choices for containers.
Consider Plant Care
Just like humans, each plant has its own requirements for remaining healthy. In the plant world, these needs encompass water, soil and nutrients. Choose plants with similar needs to ensure they thrive together. For instance, if planting drought–tolerant succulents in a container, plant other arid-loving plants like Lantana or Echinacea. Conversely, if you’re planting a moisture-loving Colocasia, group it with other shade and moisture loving plants such as Coleus or ferns. Some plants require more care than others, so choose plants whose deadheading, fertilizing and watering needs align with your gardening routines.
With just a bit of planning, selecting plants for your container gardens can be a fun and exciting process, and reflect your overall aesthetic, and style. Giving thought and intention to choosing plants for your containers will allow you the opportunity to create beautiful container plantings and enjoy a vibrant display from now through summer.
