Container Planting Ideas for your Garden

The one activity most gardeners share, whether they own a several acre estate or just a mere window sill, is growing plants in containers. Almost all gardeners do it and have lots of inspired container planting ideas  – with good reason. Growing plants in hanging baskets, window boxes, troughs, pots, tubs, even old wheelbarrows is immensely, instantly rewarding and offers great scope for the imagination.

This wheelbarrow has annuals such as alyssum, which is very easy to grow and will last all summer until the first frosts.

Container planting for your front garden

Containers offer an immediate effect that is frankly hard to resist. The lush foliage of a topiary evergreen in a container gives a maturity to a garden and of course can be placed wherever it is most needed. Consider setting a striking container as a dramatic focal point in your garden, or to screen an eyesore, or to welcome a visitor to your front door, there are literally endless uses to be made of containers in the garden.

 

Chimney pots make a charming container planting idea for the front door of a cottage. It is possible to use anything that holds soil to grow plants, so long as it has a drainage hole. But usually, it’s best to choose containers whose style, material and colour are in overall harmony with the look of your home and garden. A classic Greek urn placed lovingly outside a Cotswold cottage looks comical but placed outside a traditional town house creates an entirely different effect.

 

When choosing plants, strike a balance between the container and plant size, a tiny plant looks ridiculous in a vast tub. Aim for abundance and compose a harmonious shape with taller plants at the back or centre and a gradual decent to a frill of foliage or bloom at the rim.  I like using containers to grow plants that don’t like the local soil and prefer acidic conditions. An excellent plant for a container is the evergreen Camellia japonica. Make sure that you use a special ericaceous compost when planting, place it in a sheltered, partly shady spot and it will reward you with an abundant spring display.Herbs are perfect for planting in containers and so easy to place right outside the kitchen door!

 

Annual plants will soon become available in shops or online and are ideal for planting in containers, giving an instant effect. Choose plants that give an interesting colour and texture contrasts. The deep, velvety tones of Petunia ‘Storm Blue’ a mix beautifully with the clean white flowers of Geranium ‘Maverick White.’ For an attention seeking duo, the high-voltage contrast of Zinnia ‘Profusion Orange’ and Verbena ‘Homestead Purple’ creates maximum impact. The vibrant orange of marigolds makes a dramatic compliment to terracotta.

 

Container gardening is easy and fun. It allows you to be adventuress and experiment in a way that’s not possible with the more static elements of a garden and no garden is really complete without at least one.

For more ideas on things to do in the spring garden see our ideas on things to do in the April Garden.