Plant Combinations for Spring Container Gardening

Last year I did a post with Helen Weis from Unique by Design on container gardening basics. And when I tell you it’s been our most popular post…that’s really an understatement. It’s gotten almost half of our pageviews over the past 12 months. Crazy! [Thanks again Helen…oh-wise-guru-of-all-things-container-gardening!!]

Soooo….I thought I’d follow-up with another container gardening post…showing you what I did in some of my containers this spring…providing you with linked lists of the plant combinations I chose. Here you go…

36” Window Box on Our Back Porch Railing (Sun/Partial Shade)

Since this window box is right outside our back door, it’s the one that greets our friends and family whenever they come over for a visit…and the container that we see more than any other. So at the very least, it needed to be welcoming. Although sometimes I’ll put a pop of color in it…this year I remained true to the green & white palette you’ll find in the rest of our yard.

• • Caladium ‘White Christmas’ (2)
  • Angelonia ‘Archangel White’ (4)
  • Sweet Alyssum ‘Silver Stream’ (3) (We love their faint, fresh honey smell when we walk out our back door.)
  • Creeping Jenny ‘Goldi’ (2) (I use Creeping Jenny everywhere – in and out of containers.)

48” Stone Trough Planter on Our Pergola (Partial Shade)

I needed to soften the lines of our pergola right next to our hanging day bed, but I didn’t have enough room to put a pot  > 10” wide…nor did I want to put a series of small pots all in a row. I also needed to stick with plants that were more shade-loving…given that the Evergreen Clematis “Armandii” has completely covered our pergola. So using an old 4′ trough planter…this is what I came up with.

• • Foamy Bells Heucherella ‘Blue Ridge’ (3)
  • Autumn Fern (2)
  • Ajuga reptans ‘Bronze Beauty’ (2)
  • (Note: I love using perennials such as these in containers, because once they’ve outgrown their space…I’ll simply transplant them somewhere in my yard.)

24” Window Box on Our Potting Shed (Partial Shade)

As is often one of the primary reasons you add a container to an outdoor space, I wanted to soften the otherwise hard lines of our potting shed…while also adding a bit of texture. I may not get enough sun to get many strawberries, but I thought it was also at least worth trying to add some edibles in this small window box.

• • Caladium ‘White Christmas’ (2)
  • Vinca Vine ‘Variegata’ (3) (Love how Vinca can serve as both a “spiller” and “filler”.)
  • Strawberries (2)

5’2″ Window Box on Our Chicken Coop (Partial Sun)

I inherited this large wooden window box from my in-laws…painted it the same color black as the shutters and doors of our home, chicken coop, and potting shed…and hung it on one of the two large “windows” of our coop. In addition to wanting it to be dense with plant material…for obvious reasons due to its location, I also wanted to use plants that had bug repellent qualities.

• • Caladium ‘White Queen’ (2)
  • Verbena ‘White Blush’ (3)
  • Creeping Jenny ‘Goldi’ (4)
  • Various mints (5’ish) (Left over from last year that grew back…and they’re nice to smell, particularly when you crush their leaves.)
  • (Note: I’ve recently dead-headed the verbena…so I’ll update the photo once the new flowers are in bloom.)

So there you have it. What have you planted in your containers this year? I’d love to see what you’ve come up with to redeem your ground through container gardening.

Take care my plant-loving friends,