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This bright and fresh combo exudes charm. Echeveria 'Perle Von Nurnberg' pops in its surrounding of the lime-green Plectranthus 'Limelight'. And purple petunias and pink blossoms crown the arrangement with a touch of sweetness.
Containers with ornamental grasses provide easy-care drama. For greater impact, combine different textures, heights, colors and plumes. These tough plants will still look great at the end of the season. In containers such as this one, the flowers hide the base of the grass and can be switched out as blooms fade.
When you've got a small plant, using it in a tabletop container lets you bring it to eye level where it can be better appreciated. Here, hyacinths take the spotlight. Placing them up close means you can appreciate their fragrance better, too.
Short on space? Planters hung from rafters, arbors, eaves or even trees draw eyes up and inject color to your landscape. Here, several baskets filled with impatiens hang from a spreading tree.
Give shady areas of your yard bursts of color and texture. This shady container may not need watering as often as your sun pots. Feel the soil or use a monitor before you water so you don't drown the roots. Water should not stand inside the container. Our pot uses:
-- Boston fern (Nephrolepis exaltata 'Bostoniensis')
-- Begonia 'NonStop Pink'
-- Fuchsia spp.
-- Caladium bicolor
-- Slipper orchid (Paphiopedilum callosum)
-- Bleeding heart (Dicentra spp.)
-- Maidenhair fern (Adiantum pedatum)
-- Elephant's ears (Bergenia spp.)
-- Labrador violet (Viola labradorica)
-- Bird's-foot violet (Viola pedata)
Flowers provide an instant vacation feel to any setting. Put out pretty containers in your backyard seating areas and grow flowering, fragrant favorites. The container pictured at left has pink begonias, red impatiens, gold-leaf fuchsia and English ivy.
Add drama to your yard with plants that happily bask in the sun. Give these plants at least six hours of sunlight every day. Use curly willow twigs or a small, decorative trellis to support the mandevilla. Plant list:
-- Vinca vine (Vinca spp.)
-- Water hyssop (Bacopa caroliniana)
-- Annual phlox (Phlox drummondii '21st Century White')
-- Daisy (Leucanthemum spp.)
-- New Guinea impatiens (Impatiens 'Pure Beauty Purple')
-- Bellflower (Campanula 'Birch Hybrid')
-- White monkey flower (Mimulus spp.)
-- Lobelia erinus 'Rosamund'
-- Phlox (Phlox spp.)
-- Gerbera daisy
-- Mandevilla spp. vine (one pink and one white)
-- Delphinium elatum 'Magic Fountain'
-- Dusty miller (Centaurea cineraria 'Silver Dust')
-- Salvia x sylvestris 'Blue Queen'
-- Morning glory vine (Convolvulus spp.)
We planted this sunny collection of annuals in a child's wagon, but any rectangular planter with similar dimensions will work. Tuck extra bedding plants into fun containers, such as brightly colored beach pails. Be sure to drill a hole in the bottom to allow good drainage. Our wagon includes:
-- Horned violet (Viola cornuta 'Sorbet Plum Velvet')
-- French dwarf marigold (Tagetes 'Bonanza Orange')
-- Lobelia erinus 'Riviera Midnight Blue'
-- Variegated Swedish ivy (Plectranthus coleoides 'Variegatus')
-- Sunflower (Helianthus annuus 'Big Smile')
-- Floss flower (Ageratum houstonianum 'Blue Danube')
-- Petunia milliflora 'Fantasy Red'
Gardeners often overlook vertical space. Use freestanding or hanging containers to give your garden three-dimensional color. In this container: 'Ramblin' Violet' Wave petunia, strawflower (Bracteantha bracteata), and 'Cuzco Yellow' creeping zinnia (Sanvitalia procumbens).
Unify your landscaping by repeating color and shape with similar or identical containers. This technique is especially effective along a path or on a long wall such as the one at left. The containers hold a purple-leaf coleus and creeping Jenny (Lysimachia 'Goldilocks').
Vines can give your container garden height, shape and visual interest. Here, a Spanish flag twines upward to add the finishing touch in a colorful planting:
-- Zinnia haageana 'Persian Carpet'
-- Petunia 'Ultra Blue'
-- Coleus (Solenostemon 'Alabama Sunrise')
-- Spanish flag (Ipomoea lobata)
-- Vinca 'Illumination'
Container designs should have plants with the same sun, soil and water requirements. Good companions include a variety of sedums and other succulents. The larger container at left features 'Bon Bon' (Sedum reflexum) for height with 'Angelina' (Sedum rupestre) and hens and chicks (Sempervivum) to fill. More 'Angelina' is in a companion pot.
Set a sophisticated tone with layers of lilac, purple and plum foliage and flowers. This pot, which perches on a low wall to give it more prominence, uses:
-- Lantana camara 'Feston Rose'
-- 'Senorita Rosalita' spider flower (Cleome hassleriana)
-- Osteospermum 'Soprano Purple'
-- Perilla 'Magilla'
-- Tradescantia pallida 'Purple Queen'
-- 'Burgundy Madness' petunia
-- 'Whispers Appleblossom' petunia
-- Calibrachoa Superbells Trailing Blue
Update the relaxed, cheerful look of a vintage container with rambling plants in a pretty pink, ivory and green palette:
-- Verbena Aztec Light Pink
-- Transvaal daisy (Gerbera jamesonii)
-- Geranium (Pelargonium hybrids)
-- Periwinkle (Vinca major 'Wojo's Gem')
-- Mini petunia (Supertunia Lemon Plume)
This one-pot garden combines an array of soft, comfortable and neutral colors, set off by a caramel-color wooden container. It shows how foliage in great colors and textures can make just as big an impact as a variety of blooms:
-- 'Sedona' coleus (Solenostemon scutellarioides)
-- Carex 'Bronzita'
-- 'Glennis' coleus (Solenostemom scutellarioides)
-- Phormium 'Bronze Beauty'
-- Verbena Aztec Trailing Coral
Create color harmony with soft yellow, deep red and rosy hues for a warm, organic feel. Partnered in a shallow pot, these plants are just right for tabletop pizzazz:
-- Wizard Sun coleus (Solenostemon scutellarioides)
-- Shrimp plant (Justicia brandegeeana)
-- Kong Mosaic coleus (Solenostemon scutellarioides)
-- 'Swizzle Cherry and Ivory' zinnia
-- 'Yellow Madness' petunia
Trailing vines, willow branches, creeping myrtle and fountaingrass give a relaxed, flowing feel to this container garden, created in a 24-inch galvanized-metal tub. For a more formal summer planting, see the next slide.
Here's what we used:
-- Three 8-inch pots of fountaingrass (Miscanthus sinensis 'Autumn Light')
-- Two 8-inch pots of sweet potato vine (lpomoea batatas)
-- 12 willow (Salix spp.) branches
-- Three 6-inch pots of marigolds (Tagetes spp.)
-- One 8-inch pot of creeping myrtle (Vinca minor 'Variegata')
For a more formal summer look than the previous slide, we created a planting in a 36-inch-diameter iron urn:
-- One 8-inch pot of maidengrass (Miscanthus sinensis 'Gracillimus')
-- Two 4-inch pots of miniature roses (Rosa spp.)
-- Three 4-inch pots of Ficus nitida
-- 24 pussy willow (Salix discolor) branches
-- Two 6-inch pots of aluminum plant (Pilea cadierei)
Succulents are a snap to grow and need almost no care. Most succulents prefer full sun, well-drained soil and good air circulation. Use a potting mix designed specifically for succulents or cacti. Water potted succulents regularly during the growing season, but don't overwater. Always water the plants at their base instead of overhead. Feed succulents monthly with a balanced plant food.
Both containers in the photo hold Echeveria spp.; the one in the front also has cobweb houseleek (Sempervivum arachnoideum) trailing over the side.
This succulent planting combines Echeveria spp. with various types of hens-and-chicks (Sempervivum spp.) in a sleek black metal container. You can choose from more than 40 species of hens-and-chicks to vary your look. A few smooth stones between plants give this combination a rocky, organic effect.
Mix spiky Dracaena with puckery coleus (Solenostemon scutellarioides), coralbells (Heuchera spp.), flouncy pansy blossoms (Viola spp.) and geranium leaves (Pelargonium spp.) to create a lush, springtime combination.
Surround a burgundy paddle-leaf canna with low-growing, white-striped dwarf bamboo (Sasa masumuneana) to make a stunning foliage-focused container. Planting this bamboo in a pot will discourage rampant spreading.
Pair a tropical bulb--large-leaf imperial taro (Colocasia esculenta 'Illustris')--with scarlet plume (Euphorbia fulgens) in a 30-inch container. The result: An amazing addition to your landscape, so big it could even be used to divide sections of an outdoor room.
Create a soothing look with colors typical of a spa--dominant shades of green with black and white accents:
-- White cypress vine (lpomoea quamoclit 'Alba')
-- 'Black Pearl' ornamental pepper
-- Flowering kale (Brassica oleracea 'Chidori White')
-- White double trailing petunia
-- Sedum rupestre 'Angelina'
-- Silver sage (Salvia argentea)
Give a classic combination a twist with touches of brown. Grow this grouping in shade or part shade. Putting the plants in a black-and-white container adds to the drama. It includes:
-- 'Blackie' sweet potato vine (lpomoea batatas)
-- African mask (Alocasia amazonica)
-- 'Harmony White' fibrous begonia
-- Super Elfin white impatiens
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Where do you get the container?
5/21/2011 08:11:44 PM Report Abuse