During this time of year, many of us take a trip to the garden centre in search of annual hanging baskets, window boxes and planters. As a yearly tradition, it can feel repetitious finding the same selections over and over again, especially those pre-made pots filled with Dracaena spikes, geraniums and petunias.
Now of course these plants have their place in the garden because they are very reliable, however, creating your own planter has many benefits. Firstly, it allows you to choose the colours of your choice, the types of plants whether they be annuals, perennials or tropicals (these combinations are rarely found in pre-made planters together), and don’t forget the fun in creating your own planter and the pride of showing your friends and family how artistic and talented you are! To build a beautiful container, there are several easy design principals to follow:
1. As a general rule, there are 3 categories of plants you want to choose from your plant palette, these are the thriller (or focal point), filler and spiller. For example, if we take our basic planter design, the Dracaena spike is the thriller, the geranium is the filler and the petunia is the spiller.
2. Whatever size container your using, make sure the thriller’s mature height grows 2/3 the height of the container. This will make the container as a whole look proportionate.
3. Keep it simple. Often trips to the garden centre result in such excitement that we want to buy one of everything, however, for beginners, sticking to only 2-3 types of plants and repeating them throughout the container is an easy design trick. This effortless concept is pleasing to the eye rather than creating a mish mash of many different plants.
## How to Get Started:
– Create a list including site conditions, planter attributes, and a general budget of what you would like to spend.
– Site conditions will include whether your planter is growing in sun or shade as this will affect your plant selection as well as watering needs.
– Planter attributes include the size of your container; this will determine how much soil you will need and the amount of plants.
– Annuals are generally sold in 4-6” pots and thrillers such as Dracaenas, grasses, and many perennials are found in 1 gallon pots, this will give you an idea how to estimate how many plants will fit. This will become easier with time through experience of planting every year.
– Colour selection should be determined at this time. Selection may or may not reflect the colours of your garden.
– One factor that is often overlooked is making sure the colours selected don’t contrast awkwardly with the colour of the house. Choosing hot pink will clash with a red brick house; a better selection would be softer blues, mixed with purple, white or grey.
– Consider cost: once you know approximately how many plants will fit and how much soil is needed, a budget can be estimated.
– Cost is mainly influenced by the types of plants chosen. Exotic and rare plants will cost more than your typical annuals; it just depends on what you want to spend.
## Playing With Colour & Texture
The typical planters we find contain annuals primarily selected for their bright colours and their long and prolific flowering periods. There is nothing wrong with this combination; however one way of making your planter unique is by choosing plants with texture such as a Hosta (filler) to compliment the flashy plants such as petunias (spiller). Often we can turn to our very own perennial gardens for inspiration and advice.
The pictures above provide examples of these design principles in action using annual, perennials and exotic tropicals, and show how texture combined with contrasting colours makes a visually powerful and striking combination.
Another trick with container design is to choose miniature cultivars of perennials that are better suited to the smaller growing space of a pot. Here are some combinations you may want to try:
### Part Shade to Shade:
– Dwarf Goat’s Beard (thriller) or Astilbe ‘Amethyst’ (thriller)
– Heuchera – come in a wide variety of bright, contrasting colours (filler) or Black Mondo Grass (filler)
– Hosta ‘Blue Mouse Ears’ or Hosta ‘Pandora’s Box’ (filler)
– Maidenhair Fern (filler)
– Variegated Flowering Vinca (spiller)
### Full Sun to Part Shade:
– Black-Eyed Susan ‘Goldsturm’ (thriller)
– Carpathian Bellflower ‘Blue Clips (filler)
– Dwarf Lady’s Mantle (filler)
– Blue Fescue Grass ‘Elijah’ or Variegated Lily-Turf (filler)
– Sedum ‘Angelina’ (spiller) or Variegated Flowering Vinca (spiller)
Just remember, containers are a wonderful way to express your personality, dress-up your deck or patio and add seasonal interest through colour and texture. Be sure to visit your local garden centre throughout the season to expand your plant knowledge and pick out potential plants you would like to try. Please be sure to email us pictures of your creations!
Until next time,
Andrea
*Pictures and post contributed by
Andrea Weddum, Landscape Designer*
