If you want ideas on how to put together fabulous container gardens, just take a walk around downtown Farmville, Virginia. There are massive containers planted with everything from banana trees to bromeliads, small containers filled with old favorites, wild color combinations everywhere, and even climbing plants adding height to containers.
When planning your own container garden, there're just a few basics to remember.
- First, decide where you want to place the completed container and what purpose the container garden should serve. Will it fill a hole in an established bed that needs a pop of color or an accent? Will it welcome guests to your garden or encourage visitors to sit and enjoy the beauty?
- Second, decide what kind of container will best help you meet your objectives. Just about anything, even a large garbage can will work. Tall containers are beautiful accents. Small containers complement other containers or plantings.
- Every container should include a thriller, a filler, and a spiller.
- A thriller is a spectacular plant that makes a big show. It can be a plant with flowers or just foliage. Something like a bright orange bromeliad, a banana tree, or even an interesting vine trained up a bamboo pole.
- A filler, is just that, a plant of combination of plants that fill empty space. Don't limit yourself to just flowers. Vegetables, such as rainbow chard look great and are unexpected additions. A container garden should be tightly planted so that it looks lush even when it's new.
- A spiller is a plant that creeps, crawls, and spills over the side of the container. It's another layer of visual interest.
Let's take a tour.
Once you've completed your container garden, ongoing TLC is essential. Tightly planted containers need extra water during hot summer weather. Regular applications of fertilizer are important too. If a plant gets leggy or just doesn't perform well, remove it and wedge another in its place.
Happy planting!
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