Use our plant-by-numbers guide to create bold, beautiful, and eye-catching container gardens.
Play Up the Power of Foliage
A collection of foliage plants, grouped in vintage and new containers, pulls greens, yellows, and rust into a coordinating palette.
A. Purple fountaingrass (Pennisetum setaceum 'Rubrum') -- 2
B. Coleus (Solenostemon 'Glennis') -- 2
C. Rue (Ruta graveolens 'Jackman's Blue') -- 3
D. Croton (Codeiaeum 'Gold Star') -- 3
E. Dracaena 'Florida Beauty' -- 1
F. Hosta 'Bright Lights' --1
G. Dracaena marginata -- 1
Draw Your Eye Up
A tall container calls for vertical plants -- but you don't necessarily have to grow up. Here, trailing stems of creeping Jenny surround mounds of petunias, verbena, and calibrachoa (also called Million Bells).
A. Calibrachoa 'Cabaret Hot Pink' -- 1
B. Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) -- 2
C. Creeping Jenny (Lysimachia nummularia) -- 3
D. Verbena 'Wildfire Deep Lavender' -- 2
E. Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) -- 1
F. Petunia 'Easy Wave Blue' -- 1
Create Your Own Fireworks
Striking phormium looks great as a specimen plant. It looks even better dressed up by other plants. Here, bacopa and fescue add contrast in both color and plant size and add to the planting's bold interest.
A. Bacopa (Sutera 'Snowstorm') -- 2
B. New Zealand Flax (Phormium tenax 'Variegatum') -- 1
C. Blue fescue (Festuca glauca 'Elijah Blue') -- 2
Elegant and simple, this container gets its beauty from the coordinating foliage and blooms of croton and impatiens.
A. New Guinea impatiens (Impatiens 'Sonic Red') -- 4
B. Croton (Codiaeum variegatum 'Petra') -- 1
Create Drama with Vines
A pretty yellow black-eyed Susan vine scrambles up the center of this rolling container, complemented by the yellow-green shades of coleus, lantana, and osteospermum. Place plants and containers such as these against exterior walls in need of a summer color boost.
A. Black-eyed Susan vine (Thunbergia alata 'Suzie hybrids') -- 2
B. Coleus (Solenostemon 'Goldie') -- 1
C. Lantana (Lantana 'Landmark Yellow') -- 1
D. Abutilon pictum 'Thompsonii' -- 4
E. Osteospermum 'Lemon Symphony' -- 1
Create a Soft Look
At times unrestrained, the range of blooms found here, including petunia, nicotiana, and daisy, softens the wood timbers and helps give them warmth.
A. Calibrachoa Starlette Yellow -- 2
B. Coleus (Solenstemon 'Colleen') -- 1
C. Petunia 'Baby Compact Coral' -- 1
D. Daisy (Argyranthemum 'Madeira White') -- 1
E. Nicotiana 'Saratoga Deep Rose' -- 1
F. Coleus (Solenostemon 'Autumn') -- 1
G. Sanvitalia 'Sunbini' -- 1
H. Strawflower (Bracteantha 'Sundaze Flame') -- 1
Keep Your Colors Simple
Blue and yellow is a classic color combination you can always count on to create impact. Here, it's freshened up with a couple of white accents.
A. Petunia 'Easy Wave Blue' -- 1
B. Angelonia 'Angelface White' -- 3
C. Lobelia 'Techno Heat Light Blue' -- 3
D. Osteospermum 'Vanilla Symphony' -- 1
E. Sanvitalia 'Sunbini' -- 2
Play Off Your Container
Use your container to create contrast. Here, soft silvers and purples accent the deeper-toned container. The minimal blooms make way for a selection of interesting foliage.
A. Lamb's ears (Stachys byzantina 'Big Ears') -- 2
A. Sedum 'Vera Jameson' -- 1
C. Hakonechloa macra 'Aureola' -- 1
D. Veronica 'Blue Charm' -- 1
E. Ruby Grass (Melinus 'Pink Crystals') -- 1
Eat What You Grow
Bold container gardens don't just have to look good -- they can taste great, too! Here, a calamondin offers a beautiful focal point for sage and rosemary.
A. Calamondin (Citrus mitis 'Calamondin') -- 1
B. Blue fescue (Festuca glauca) -- 2
C. Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis 'Prostratus') -- 2
D. Tricolor sage (Salvia officinalis 'Tricolor') -- 2
