Containers
Icy blues. Plant this beauty now and enjoy blooms all summer. Silver-leaved lavender, such as Lavandula stoechas ‘Silver Anouk’, looks fresh for spring and grows into a pale, shimmering shrub with medium-purple flowers through spring and summer. Surround a potted lavender with warm-season annuals such as calibrachoa or perennial silver-leaved spiller Silver Cascade dusty miller (Artemisia stelleriana). Water requirement: Moderate to highLight requirement: Full sun
Sunny welcome. Spring blooms with richer pastel tones have a stronger visual impact than those with paler hues that are more washed out. For an entryway display that packs a color punch, combine medium-pink tulips with golden daffodils, tangerine and sky-blue pansies, purple nemesias and variegated English ivy.Water requirement: Moderate to highLight requirement: Full sun to partial shade
Spring elegance. Give a quick update to potted winter evergreens by tucking cool-season annuals (like pansies and violas) or warm-season bloomers (like petunias and bacopa) around the base. Choose flowers in shades of blue, lavender, pink, lemon-yellow or pale orange for a springlike look. This container features ‘Faulkner’ littleleaf boxwood (Buxus microphylla ‘Faulkner’) and Celebration Sky Blue calibrachoa.Water requirement: Moderate Light requirement: Full sun
Pastel hues. Potted arrangements of fuss-free succulents look good now and will continue to grow all summer long with little additional care. Select a combination with a variety of colors, forms and textures, from rosette-forming echeverias to upright aeoniums and fine-textured ground cover sedums. In this container combination, a vivid purple echeveria (Echeveria ‘Perle Von Nürnberg’) is a particular standout. Other succulents in this container include ‘Angelina’ stonecrop (Sedum rupestre ‘Angelina’), aloe vera (Aloe vera), ‘Mexican Giant’ echeveria (Echeveria colorata ‘Mexican Giant’), blue chalk sticks (Senecio serpens) and ‘Velour’ aeonium (Aeonium ‘Velour’).Water requirement: Low Light requirement: Full sun; part shade in hot climates
Scent of spring. For a delicious fragrance when you pass over your home’s threshold, cluster potted bulbs chosen for their scent by your main entrance. Hyacinths and paperwhites (Narcissus papyraceus) are among the most fragrant and widely available. Water requirement: Moderate to highLight requirement: Full sun to partial shade
Early Spring Container Garden With Hyacinth, Daffodil, Pansy, and Pussy Willow Miniature vignette. For a small-scale display — perfect for an elevated container where you can see the arrangement up close — plant tiny daffodils like 8-inch-tall ‘Hawera’ or ‘Baby Boomer’ in combination with pansies and hyacinths. If you’d like a bit more height, tuck in branches of pussy willow or budding forsythia.Water requirement: Moderate to highLight requirement: Full sun to partial shade
Purple rain. Florist hydrangeas are bred to bloom on much smaller plants than shrubby garden hydrangeas, making them a perfect scale for spring containers. Buy them budding or already in bloom and combine with fragrant hyacinths (Hyacinth sp.), grape hyacinths and chartreuse stonecrop (Sedum rupestre ‘Lemon Coral’) to re-create this look. ‘Mathilda Gutges’ bigleaf hydrangeas (Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Mathilda Gutges’) grow in this container. After their peak, florist hydrangeas can be planted out into sunny garden beds.Water requirement: Moderate to highLight requirement: Full sun to partial shade
Spring trio. Make an impact with an odd number of spring containers arranged together in a vignette. The designer of this entryway trio massed colorful pansies and nemesias in the lowest container, planted the medium container with an evergreen combination of boxwood and trailing ivy, and played up the height of the largest container with purple foxgloves (Digitalus sp.). A clever trick to try at home: Use cut pussy willow branches stuck into the soil as an attractive support for tall bloom spikes.Water requirement: Moderate to highLight requirement: Full sun to partial shade
Celebration of spring. Welcome the season with a sunny arrangement of mixed bulbs of various heights and delicate pansies tucked to fill in around the base. Here, a pair of deep urns planted with medium-purple tulips, yellow daffodils, pink ranunculuses, grape hyacinths (Muscari sp.), pansies and variegated English ivy makes a glorious entry arrangement.It can be tricky to get bulbs planted in combination to bloom at the same time. To re-create this look, choose a bag of early, midseason or late-blooming bulbs packaged together and plant them in a container according to the instructions. If you missed planting bulbs last fall, pick up potted bulbs from your local nursery and plant them together in a container. Look for ones that are just beginning to bud for a coordinated bloom time.Water requirement: Moderate to highLight requirement: Full sun to partial shade
2. Light and airy. Bright green tendrils of maidenhair vine (Muehlenbeckia complexa) pour over the side of this tall rectangular container to create an eye-catching cascade in Seattle. Evergreen huckleberry (Vaccinium ovatum ‘Thunderbird’), a Northwest native, provides dark berries in summer and copper-colored leaves in fall, as seen here. The larger green and bronze leaves of highland doghobble (Leucothoe fontanesiana) and variegated Japanese sedge (Carex hachijoensis ‘Evergold’) complete the display. Water requirement: Moderate to high Light requirement: Partial shade to full sun
Autumn embers. Vivid foliage and hot-colored flowers nearly glow in two charcoal-colored containers in this Vancouver garden. A mass of bronze coleus leaves edged with chartreuse forms the middle layer of the composition in front of orange-flowering canna lilies (Canna sp.) and purple fountain grass (Pennisetum setaceum ‘Rubrum’). Spilling over the edge of the pot, pumpkin-colored Calibrachoa picks up the color of the canna blooms, while sweet potato vine (Ipomoea batatas) deepens the color palette. Water requirement: Moderate to highLight requirement: Full sun
9. Dramatic bare branches. This grouping of curly willow (Salix matsudana) branches creates quite a modern, festive and long-lasting entry vignette. Branches at least 4 feet tall emerge from a bed of pine cones. For extra pizazz, wind a string of twinkle lights through the pine cones. At night, the curly twigs will glow from the base.
8. Massed leaves and branches. If simple is more your style but you still want to enjoy your containers through winter, try tucking a group of magnolia boughs around three to five branches of Himalayan birch (Betula utilis var. jacquemontii). The effect is contemporary and festive, and the arrangement can last well into the new year.
7. Trailing vines. Ivy is another great choice if you prefer your designs to have something living. The white birch branches bursting from the top here pick up on the variegation in this ivy variety. Pine boughs, false cypress greens, southern magnolia leaves and winterberry holly round out the arrangement.
6. Winter-blooming flowers. You don’t have to start from scratch to create a gorgeous winter design. Here, a single juniper that can live in this container year-round is spruced up with bright red cyclamens and boughs of cedar garland, secured with irrigation spikes draped from the lip of the pot. Euphorbia ‘Helena’s Blush’ fills out the container. Tip: Cyclamen persicum is only winter-hardy to USDA zones 9 to 11 (find your zone). If your area teeters on the hardiness edge, keep the arrangement close to the house so it can benefit from the extra warmth emitted.
5. Tasty window boxes. You can also celebrate the bounty of the season by tucking in edible fruits. Apples (the ones here are artificial) give this window box a cornucopia feel, and natural lotus pods, pine cones and eucalyptus add interest in the center. Sprigs of eucalyptus add height. Noble fir (Abies procera), Port Orford cedar (Chamaecyparis lawsoniana), incense cedar (Calocedrus decurrens) and eastern white pine fill out the box.
Adorn SaveEmail 3. Oversized ornaments. If you’re low on branches, or they’re not your style, you can add ornaments to containers. Here, spheres in three different materials create a lively container vignette. If you’re not into the red theme for the holidays, waterproof ornaments like these are a great way to use a different color scheme.
2. Festive vessels. Containers in a bright shade can also add color to winter arrangements. Here, the sprigs of winterberry and red butcher’s broom (Ruscus sp.) echo the glossy red pots. White twigs accent the foliage of glaucous eastern white pine (Pinus strobus), while the leaves of bold southern magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora) and the Fraser fir (Abies fraseri) add texture and movement.
5. Nontraditional Colors The color scheme for this container garden is blue, white and silver but that doesn't mean it can't work for fall holidays and springtime too. Year-round interest: • Korean fir (Abies koreana) • 'Baby Blue' boulevard cypress (Chamaecyparis pisifera) • Trailing ivy Fall interest: • Cyclamen offer wonderful fall color on a protected porch. Keep them in their nursery pots for ease of watering. Simply remove the plant in its container and stand it on a saucer of water for a few minutes before tucking back it into the planter. • The felted silver foliage of dusty miller (Senecio cineraria) is winter hardy. • Blue and white pansies Christmas cheer (shown): • Hang silver ornaments from the tree branches. • Add larger silver and white balls at the base. • Insert a few stems of blue spruce around the container's edges. • Consider just a single splash of bright color, such as this little red cardinal. Spring interest: • White crocus • White hyacinths • The pansies will be in full bloom. Summer interest: • Replace the pansies with white million bells (Calibrachoa).
4. Holly Isn't Just for the Holidays Keep holly (Ilex sp.) in your container and you have a jump start for every season. Year-round interest: • 'Gold Coast' holly (Ilex aquifolium) • Black mondo grass (Ophiopogon planiscapus nigrescens) • Leatherleaf sedge (Carex buchananii) Fall and Thanksgiving accents: • Add colorful pumpkins. • Add stems of yellow and orange bittersweet (Celastrus scandens) Christmas cheer (shown): • Add pinecones, stems with berries and silver balls • Insert lengths of evergreens from the garden, such as fir and spruce.
3. The Little Black Dress Black never goes out of fashion, and with a few new accessories this artistic container can easily be ready for a party. Year-round interest: • Gardenia Fall interest: • White Japanese anemones (Anemone japonica) planted behind the gardenia Thanksgiving accents: • Add a couple of mini white pumpkins around the base of the gardenia. Christmas cheer (shown): • Add everlasting accents and stems, such as silk magnolia, white berries and clusters of cones dusted with silver. • Insert evergreens from the garden — such as cedar, juniper and fir — into the moist soil; they will keep fresh for weeks.
Year-round interest: • Big leafy coral bells (Heuchera) • Autumn fern (Dryopteris erythrosora) • Andromeda (Pieris japonica) Fall and Thanksgiving accents (shown): • A large pumpkin easily fills in space. • Colorful vines provide instant trailing accents. Christmas cheer: • Replace the pumpkin with faux gifts wrapped and beribboned in festive colors. Spring interest: • Add a basket of pretty primroses, still in nursery pots and surrounded by Spanish moss to hide the evidence! Summer interest: • This is a good time to plant everything properly, as it will make watering easier. • Replace primroses with shade-tolerant annuals, such as begonias or impatiens.
2. Quick Summer-to-Fall Pot I often have leftover plants at the end of summer — this container idea is an easy way to put them to good use. These plants are still in their nursery pots and simply nestled into a decorative container. Milk cartons and empty pots are stacked inside the brown container to get the plants to the right height. You can always plant them properly when you have more time.
Spring interest (shown): • Orange 'Princess Irene' tulips will repeat the color of the container and can be planted in fall with the pansies. • Forgot to add bulbs? You can purchase pots of flowering spring bulbs and simply tuck them in. • The pansies will be in full bloom. Summer interest: • Replace the pansies and tulips with deep burgundy 'Black Magic' ivy geraniums.
Le jardinet SaveEmail 1. Fall Container Garden Fall shades are the starting point for a Thanksgiving design that can easily be given mini makeovers to look great all year. Year-round interest: • Dwarf vine maple tree (Acer circinatum 'Little Gem') • 'Spellbound' coral bells (Heuchera hybrid), with gorgeous purple foliage • Dwarf evergreen conifer • Orange grass-like 'Goldfinger' New Zealand iris (Libertia ixioides) • Trailing 'Wojo's gem' periwinkle (Vinca maculata) Fall interest (shown): • Add deep red pansies. Thanksgiving accents: • The orange pot itself sets the scene. • Nestle orange and yellow gourds among the purple foliage. Christmas cheer: • The bare red stems of the maple add height and Christmas color. • Replace gourds you added in fall with gold accents, such as weatherproof ornaments.
Purple and chartreuse. Give your spring containers real pizazz with a high-contrast foliage combination of deep purple and zingy lime green. The designer of this container garden combined plum-colored carpet bugle (Ajuga reptans ‘Black Scallop’) with lime-green creeping jenny (Lysimachia nummularia ‘Goldilocks’), purple-leaved Strobilanthes, African daisies (Osteospermum ecklonis ‘Lavender Mist’), and purple and gold pansies.Water requirement: Moderate to highLight requirement: Full sun
Q