Container Gardens

Add color and interest to any place in your landscape with a container garden. Select a variety of plants but make sure they tolerate the growing conditions where you plan to place the container.

Use a pleasing combination of texture and color for added interest, but make sure those plants all need the same soil conditions.

I like to start arranging before I start planting. Start with something vertical, like this spike or bronze fennel or an ornamental grass. This helps keep the container and planting in scale. Then fill in with some trailers, like this bacopa, vinca vine and ivy work just fine. These will cascade over the pot, helping to anchor the planting to the container.

Fill in the middle with some colorful flowers and foliage, like primrose, medium sized salvia, they add color and interest and tie the whole thing together. Now get busy planting containers anywhere you need some added interest.

A bit more information: Try something different this season. Use a small obelisk or trellis sized for containers. Then train your favorite annual or tropical vine onto the structure for vertical interest. Mandevilla, canary vine, Spanish flag or hyacinth bean vine make nice vertical accents.

Vegetables are also great for containers. The colorful tomato fruits, ornamental peppers and pretty eggplants add height and flavor to any container. Team them up with purple ruffle basil, tricolor sage and parsley for a complete meal in a pot.