15 Stunning Container Gardens

Everything you need to know to plant in containers, leverage vertical gardens, and more.


A daring blend of textures
A daring blend of textures


Texture play
This mix of (counter-clockwise, from top left) Kangaroo paws, Echeveria 'Afterglow', Adenanthos cuneatus 'Coral Drift', and Sedum reflexum provides a daring blend of textures. Container: $40; Home Depot (homedepot.com for stores).


Yellow really pops
Yellow really pops


Fireworks
Calandiva Goldengirl Yellow kalanchoe (bottom left) pops between 'Silver Shadow' astelia (right) and Euphorbia characias 'Silver Swan' (top left). Container: $40; Target (target.com for stores).


Large plants and big pots
Large plants and big pots


Succulent mini landscape

Plum-colored foliage is a rich accent against soft greens in these easy-care containers. Arrange taller plants in the center or back, trailers near the pot's edges. For immediate effect, choose large plants and big pots (shown above left: 10 in. across, 14 in. tall; right: 16 by 18 in.). Start smaller for a less pricey combination. Design: Daniel Nolan, Flora Grubb Gardens (floragrubb.com).

Grow them: Pick pots with ample drain holes and use fast-draining potting soil. Set in full sun. Water well, then only when top several inches of soil are dry.

Container at left (clockwise, from bottom left corner of pot): Aloe humilis (6 in.); Phormium 'Guardsman' (5 gal.); Leucadendron 'Wilson's Wonder' (5 gal.); Sedum rupestre 'Angelina' (1 gal.); Echeveria pulvinata (4 in.); Aeonium leucoble­pharum (6 in.).

Container at right (clockwise, from bottom center of pot): Sedum rupestre 'Angelina' (1 gal.); Sedum adolphii (4 in.); Coprosma 'Evening Glow' (1 gal.); Chondopetalum tectorum (1 gal.); Echeveria 'Coral Glow' (6 in.); Kalanchoe 'Fantastic' (6 in.); Euphorbia 'Ascot Rainbow' (1 gal.).


Arrange layer by layer
Arrange layer by layer


Splash of white
For a hint of spring on your patio, arrange several plants in a wide, low planter as you would in a garden bed--layer by layer. Include pockets of green (grasses or ferns), bursts of color, and a soft carpet base (such as Irish moss).

In this garden pot: feverfew, ranunculus, licorice plant, Johnny-jump-up, blue star creeper, bacopa, and primula obconica.


Select companions that flatter
Select companions that flatter


Colors that complement

Designer Kirstin Erchinger of Santa Fe is a horticulturalist with a floral-design background. She starts with a plant she falls in love with, then selects companions that flatter it, not compete with it.

She filled this 24-inch pot with Hibiscus 'Maple Sugar', Agastache 'Sunset', Nassella tenuissima, Lantana 'Landmark Flame', and Petunia 'Suncatcher Saphhire'.


You don't have to worry about leaking
You don't have to worry about leaking


Woolly pocket wall garden

Try a modern take on traditional hanging baskets with a wall of these Woolly Pockets. Since they're lined with moisture barriers, you don't have to worry about any leaking.
How to make a hanging plant display


Sculptural succulents
Sculptural succulents


Mini garden in a pot: 3 easy pieces

With copper-tipped Echeveria subrigada 'Fire and Ice' (center) playing off rich chocolate Aeonium arborescens 'Tip Top' (left) and cascading Sedum rupestre 'Blue Spruce' (right), this pot of sculptural succulents creates a dramatic focal point, yet takes just moments to pull together.

How to plant this succulent pot:

Buy the plants in 4-inch pots. Transplant them into a container, with drainage holes, that's partially filled with potting mix. (The oval stone planter pictured is 7 inches wide, 14 inches long, and 6 inches deep.)

Care for these easily maintained container gardens by providing a sunny or partly sunny location and watering when the soil gets dry. They'll fill in fast.


Inspired by the architecture of Japan
Inspired by the architecture of Japan


Potted bamboo and maples

Potted bamboos and maples dress the gravel-covered patio inspired by the architecture of Japan.
See this Sunset reader's Japanese-inspired garden


Especially cheerful in glossy pots
Especially cheerful in glossy pots


Small pots

When speckled with blooms, Copia 'Gulliver's White' bacopa looks especially cheerful in 5-inch-wide, glossy green pots.


Carefree creepers
Carefree creepers


Country charmers

Nasturtiums are carefree creepers with a range of flower colors.

Dwarf kinds form loose mounds about 10 to 15 inches tall--suitable for hanging baskets, patio containers, and low borders.
More on nasturtiums


Light fixtures become plant vessels
Light fixtures become plant vessels


Industrial light fixture becomes chic pot

Unwanted light fixtures (and other vessels) can become plant vessels with a contemporary edge.

Be sure your object can sit upright (flat bottom). Because there's no drainage hole, we recommend using plants that don't demand much water.

No such containers around your house? Try salvage yards for your own vessel to repurpose.


Compact alternative to common varieties
Compact alternative to common varieties


Compact lavenders

Dwarf lavenders, which stay under 2 feet tall, are compact alternatives to the common varieties that can grow to 4 feet or taller. They're particularly suitable for small beds, border edgings, even containers.


Dramatic and low-water
Dramatic and low-water


Unthirsty plants

Dramatic, low-water Echeveria and New Zealand flax fill a pot in a drought-tolerant garden.
Water-saving tips for container gardens


Azaleas and hydrangeas resemble snowballs
Azaleas and hydrangeas resemble snowballs


Patio snow
Fluffy white azaleas and hydrangeas piled in containers resemble snowballs. Forced into flower for the holidays, both plants are sold at nurseries, garden centers, and grocery stores, usually in 6-inch containers (www.hanabayflowers.com for store locations). Lightweight fiberglass-clay planters, 16 and 20 in. wide; from $69; www.smithandhawken.com or 800/981-9888.
Garden gallery: White and silver plants


Showy cabbage relatives
Showy cabbage relatives


Kale in a container

Because these showy cabbage relatives tolerate cold weather and can hold their brilliant color all the way into spring, they're ideal for growing in pots to display on porches, patios, or beside entryways. They grow 1 to 2 feet tall.
More small-space gardening ideas