The other day I noticed we only had two midsize, light-weight brown planter bowls left in stock, and they were just calling to be planted. Since summer is relatively slow and we have time on our hands, we’ve been planting all sorts of mixed containers with annuals, herbs, perennials, and everything in between to tempt folks coming in; and I thought one of these might be just the right size for someone.
Usually if I plant two of something for display, I make them similar, but, with these, I decided to play off the brown color of the bowls with two different plantings – both for sun, but each quite different, using annuals. Here’s what I came up with. Of course, there are endless variations of plants out there; these are simply my two versions using annuals available mid-summer.
The first planting uses light colors that are quite harmonious – white, blue and yellow. A variegated Swedish ivy and yellow duranta are the all-important foliage accents here, and the white flowers of the angelonia will add a spiky bloom in the center (The yellow duranta will need some clipping eventually to keep it at the right proportion for this planting.). Pretty blooms of a blue daze trailing over the edge complete the picture. If the container were larger, I might have added a silver thyme as well.
Color is an interesting thing. You can either go big, bold, and wild and mix many together, or you might choose two or three very opposite colors (Think purple and orange, for example.). Combinations can also be fairly calm, using colors closely related.
Flowers obviously add color to any composition, but don’t forget the importance of foliage too. Many times I’ll begin a design by pulling foliage plants to accent a particular planter, then add blooming plants to play off of those leaves. In fact, leaves and their shapes are extremely important to the overall look of a planter once it’s completed and growing out.
The second is quite different, though once again there’s a yellow foliage (Yellow works so well with brown!), this time a dwarf Joseph’s coat, and white blooms too, represented here by a dark leaved baby wing begonia. Its leaves match the color of the bowl almost perfectly. The begonia is a heavy presence in this planting; so, to lighten it up, an airy blooming white euphorbia went in next. Finally, the silvery foliage of a trailing dichondra spills over the edge, adding a nice contrast to the brown of the pot.
So, there are now two fairly simple, yet quite dissimilar plantings in the same bowl. At another time of the year, the choices would have been even more different…yet another reason container gardening is so entertaining!
Stop in and take a look at our container planting designs if you’re in the Birmingham area. We try to have as many made up as possible to give you ideas and inspiration!
Many of the container plantings we do are in light, mâché pots that can either be used on their own or placed in another planter. Here’s one with a mix of sun coleus, a dracaena (Barely visible in this picture, it adds a spiky leaf.), lantana, red million bells to trail, and a white angelonia. This planting will get much larger and fuller as the heat of summer settles in, and daily watering will be necessary.
The white, cone-shaped hanging basket shown here is now home to a common houseplant, an herb, and some succulents. While it may seem an unusual combination, it’s working quite nicely and has a cool, summery look. The houseplant is a pink and green tradescantia (It’s also known as Rhoeo spathacea.), sometimes called Moses In The Cradle.
We have a few tall, lightweight planters still available, and this planting shows one of them off. A tall, white ruellia (They’re sometimes called perennial petunia.) is combined here with a caladium whose leaves will get very large. The name of this one is ‘Garden White’, and it’s impressive! The large leaves will contrast nicely with the smaller leaves of the ruellia. Another foliage contrast is provided by the silvery-purple leaves of a strobilanthes, sometimes called Persian Shield. A beautiful foliage plant, it benefits from a cutback every now and then if it gets to lanky in the planting. To trail there’s a blue fanflower, scaevola.
Finally, since we had a few ‘Carolina Sapphire’ cypress left, they were candidates for a planting using smaller plants at the base to add fullness, color, and trail. These planters will be in the sun and can be changed out in the fall with the addition of pansies and other cold weather plants for the winter season.
The next uses a red fountain grass for height in a tall planter with the addition of white Profusion zinnias and white euphorbia as fillers. Spilling out are blue daze and potato vine. This planting will bloom continuously with regular water and periodic deadheading or clipping back of the zinnias. Late in the summer the grass will begin to bloom for an end of the season finale.
Many of you have pots that have shrubs in them that live year round, and just need some color added each season. In this example, the Chamaecyparis adds yellow foliage and is complimented through the summer with yellow million bells, white narrow leaf zinnias, silver dichondra and some euphorbia. The million bells and zinnias will be cut back when they get too leggy (There’s no need to deadhead each individual bloom on these.) and it will be watered daily, since the Chamaecyparis has been in this planter for a few years and it’s roots are filling the planter quite extensively.
The final planting uses a dramatic, and very large Alocasia – this speaks for itself, though it has supporting players as well, including dracaena, epescia, nepenthes, and alternanthera. It’s quite a combo.
This summer’s wet, cool weather might have kept many of you out of your gardens, but we’ve managed to stay busy in the greenhouse putting together arrangements filled with orchids, succulents, houseplants, and so much more…here’s a peek at some of them. We regularly have folks who stop in just to see what we’ve been working on! All of these arrangements are composed of live plants, no cut flowers here.
Finally, the silver container was given in memory of someone…the longlasting and low maintenance houseplants of trailiing pepperomia and cryptanthus make excellent companions. It’s gratifying, also, to know that whoever is on the receiving end will be able to enjoy this longer than a fresh flower arrangement could ever hope to last.