Easy Container Garden Combinations

Shade Container Plants JENRON DESIGNS

Easy Container Garden Combinations

Hello everyone this week I am sharing a few easy Container Garden combinations that do not disappoint, perfect for your patio or front porch!

Spring and summer planting season is one of my favorite times of the year, I feel like I can actually pay back the earth in some small way for letting me live here, or at least that is how I like to think of it. There are so many great reasons to spruce up your yard, or patio to make it bright pretty and cheerful, if not for yourself, for your community.

Today my focus is going to be on container planting, since not everyone has a yard or a green thumb. Container plants are perfect for those that live in the city or country and are the quickest and easiest way to add a little bit of seasonal color, curb appeal and decor to your home. They take very little effort and maintenance, so if landscaping is not your thing this is an easy way to make your home instantly prettier. It also is pretty much fool proof and can easily be changed out with the season so if you are commitment phobic or do not have the ability to make decisions easily this project is for you.Herb containers JENRON DESIGNSThere are many types of container gardens you can easily plant ,like this lovely herb garden seen above which can be housed in a kitchen or on a patio. This type of container garden will enhance your cooking and cocktail creations and will not take up much space at all. Here we have 5 types of popular herbs planted into a window side garden for easy kitchen snipping. You can check out my Outdoor Vertical Herb Garden DIY here.  Container Plants JENRON DESIGNSMaybe you are lucky enough to have a small porch or patio that you can add a great double basket variety like the model seen here, which will provide you a lot of bang for your buck. Keep in mind the amount of sunlight that your patio will receive throughout the day and purchase plants accordingly. Some nice colorful shade plants, like this trailing coleus that will grow throughout the spring and summer, can add a lot of interest to your space.  Also succulents will pair nicely in a container with these plants too, or they can be placed into separate specimen planters and nestled inside of your containers to create a stacked look for visual interest. Another fun tip is you can add a lime style of paint wash to a basic clay pot to give it an aged rustic patina to look like these.

Another common place for container planters is as a growing table centerpiece. You can see how I created this Umbrella Container in my DIY here. This is the perfect way to always have fresh flowers on your outdoor patio table. Depending on where your table is located will depend on your variety, I opted for full sun loving Zinnas, hearty Lantana, Dahlias, Salvia, and Vinca. All in bright colorful tones for summer fun in the sun.  Flower Basket JENRON DESIGNSAnother thing you will hear a lot about is adding thriller, fillers, and spillers. This is a common term for the shapes of the plants and how they will grow in the containers. This is an easy way for you to remember what to buy when you are at the store looking at all the pretty things, but don’t think that you have to have them all in every container, you can do your own thing too.  Specimen Container Plants JENRON DESIGNSBelow are trailing petunias so they would be spillers, since they also spread and bloom, they can also be considered a filler as well. These are perfect for hanging baskets, of tall pediments you want to have draping dramatic foliage trailing off.n Always remember to dead head your petunias to encourage contestant blooming throughout the season. One of my favorite brands for massive blooms are the “wave” petunias, in the pink pots at your local garden centers, which will bloom all summer long, with no disappointment.

I should honestly have a thriller in these containers, but I do not, it would be a taller eye catching item like a grass, or focal bush or even small tree like a lemon or lime tree would be great. As you can see below the blood glass, would be considered a perfect thriller, paired with a spiller/filler like lantana, which will spread as the season moves forward.

This container below is missing a spiller and is all thrillers with red salvia and has a focal filler with the gazing ball, but I need to add in either a green ivy, lime green creeping jenny, sedum, or purple sweet potato vine. Which one do you think? I was leaning toward the purple sweet potato vine if I could find it, but that is the other part of the equation, buy what looks pretty and what is in season. A cool trick for sweet potato vine is to just cut the end off of a sweet potato and bury it into you soil, and voile instant vine in a few weeks. In my experience they usually grow in a lime green color but you might get lucky with a purple. Adding Gazing Balls to Container Plants JENRON DESIGNS Do not get fixated on an idea of a specific plant because it quite possible may not have been grown for that particular year and you end up going without it. Which is fine you can see the salvia grew in and took over for the most part anyways, and I never actually found that purple sweet potato vine I dreamed up in my head.  Hummingbird Attractors JENRON DESIGNSAs you can see in years past I have put many types of annuals in this very same urn, and they vary for year to year based on what looks pretty and healthy, and is available. I also love to use herbs mixed in like rosemary or pineapple sage which has really pretty red blooms and attracts butterflies like crazy. Keep in mind is get really big so make sure you place it spot that can accommodate a tall lanky plant.Naturalizing Containers JENRON DESIGNSThis year I planted a mix of marigolds, pineapple sage, a hummingbird favorite, and begonias. Which just goes to show you that you can mix it up from year to year to give your yard a fresh and fun facelift, and herb are always a nice way to add in different textures which you can also clip for culinary purposes as well. Mosquito Repellants Containers JENRON DESIGNSThat reminds me, marigolds are great if you have a mosquito issue, they are a natural repellent. Marigolds are great for keeping away mosquitos, so if you are having an issue with a lot of mosquitos or live near creeks or water keep this annual in mind for it’s natural ability to repeal those bloodsuckers. For that very reason they are always a great choice to add into containers. A few others natural mosquito repellent plants are:

  • Citronella
  • Lavender
  • Nasturtiums
  • Rosemary
  • Mint
  • Basil

You may have noticed that I have a mix of marigolds and rosemary in these patio containers. Not only will that help to deter the mosquitoes around my fireplace, but I can also use the rosemary for culinary purposes as well. Just a tip if you have not planted rosemary or mint before they are both very vivacious and will take over where you put them, so contains are recommended to keep them in check. I had several rosemary hedges at my previous home.Transitioning Container Plants JENRON DESIGNSAnother container tip I have is to go with flow as the seasons change. What I mean is, you may find that while some of the plants you choose do well like my Wave petunias seen here in the above picture, as the summer wore on the lamb’s ear melted in the summer heat and began to die off. Be sure to dead head your plants to promote new growth , you can just pinch off the dead piece of snip it off with some gardening shears. After Transition Container Plants JENRON DESIGNSKnowing that would happen I planted lime green sweet potato vine, which happily grew into those spots and took over where the lambs ear left off. While the Wave petunias just kept going right on into the fall with just a little dead heading, meaning to remove the dead blossoms. If that sounds like more work than you are willing to put into your containers, you may want to consider doing a perennial container. I planted these containers autumn 3 years ago, they now reside on the side of my home flanking a basement door. They come back every spring with Purple Liatris, Black Eyed Susan’s and the Pink Passionate Gaura. I have since added in rosemary plants for some evergreen year-round. Talk about your easy gardening, this is the lazy man’s potted plant right here! Zinnias Container Plants JENRON DESIGNS

Want to see more great gardening ideas and tips? Check out my other fun garden posts here:

Growing Your Own Perfect Peonies

Growing a Shady Fern Garden

Creating a Four Seasons Garden

Planting a Perennial Garden

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Jen @ JENRON DESIGNS

Container Gardening Pin JENRON DESIGNS

23 Comments

  1. Wow you really make it sound easy, I’m not sure I’d be able to do it, I’m terrible with flower and plants

  2. I’ve always wanted to try a container garden, and these are beautiful combos! I’ll most definitely be trying out the mosquito combo! They are bad here in the summer!

  3. I love those flowers and how you arrange them! These are really good to put on my porch! Thanks for sharing!

  4. Amber Myers

    Everything is gorgeous! I love the colors. I wish I could grow stuff but alas I have a black thumb.

  5. We’ve been wanting to start a garden in our backyard since we moved here last year. I need all the tips and tricks!

  6. Tisha

    This makes me want to go get plants and flowers this weekend!

  7. bella

    All your plants look amazing, I just planted a couple of things last week and I they are growing so well! thanks for sharing this

  8. I definitely need all the help I can get when it comes to gardening, thank you so much for these beautiful combinations.

  9. So gorgeous, and I love the thrillers, fillers and spillers tip! We have a yard so my garden is just containers.

  10. Thank you so much so stopping by Delores we very much appreciate it!

  11. Christy Miguel

    You always have the prettiest planters and I love to see what you plant each year. The combinations you choose are so vibrant and colorful from the road which makes them really pop when driving by.

  12. Janice

    I love to plant containers too, since I live in a upper story apartment I have limited patio space and you have to make it count. I also have limited sunlight as well.

  13. Billie Miners

    I have truly enjoyed reading this post and your site. You have so much helpful information here, and great ideas to share. I am so glad that I found your site it is filled with all the things I love.

  14. Jenny Edwards

    The idea for a umbrella basket is very cool, and a nice way to add flowers to those kinds of tables. I love this entire article it is filled with tons of great tips for creating containers for the season.

  15. Quinn Lee

    These are fantastic tips and pretty combinations of plants for containers. You have such a great eye for these things.

  16. Katie

    You know how I have always envied your beautiful yard every season, and now these glorious container gardens have given more to aspire too this season.

  17. Barbara S.

    Beautiful planters for Your Dream Home for sure! Today I am adding in a few for ours too and I decided to go with the that pretty celadon green and pink you show.

  18. Paloma

    These are such luxurious planters and pretty combinations for any home. You have such an amazing eye for all things in design, and you home is always so beautiful. I bet you are the envy of your street, or at least the one they all come to get garden tips from. I know I would certainly want to be your friend to find our where you get all the good stuff when you do.

  19. Bailey

    You live like Royalty with all these amazing ideas and pretty plants my friend. I wish I had your green thumb and garden skillz, lol.

  20. Courtney Johnston

    5 stars
    I love to garden and lately I have been doing the container gardens for ease of work. They are just as pretty and impactful.

  21. Essie Rashatiniz

    Gardening is my jam and I love these combinations your have put together for the season. I am pinning for seasonal inspirations.

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