Designer tips for stunning container gardens
Landscape designer Christina Salwitz, owner of The Personal Garden Coach, has been growing and designing colorful containers for her Seattle, Washington, clients for years. Her best advice for a head-turning design is to “think outside the pot” to come up with new and creative container designs. While the traditional thriller, filler and spiller recipe is a great way to get started, don’t let it limit your container creativity.
Though Christina is all about breaking the rules when it comes to trying new plant combinations, she does have a few tips to guide you along the way and lots of gorgeous containers for inspiration. Plus find two patio planter designs, complete with plant lists so you can recreate them in your own garden.
1. Experiment with different container plants
Be adventurous with your plant combinations. If you like a plant’s flower or foliage color, habit or leaf shape, give it a try — the results just might be amazing!
2. Create easy combos with the rule of 3
Christina uses three heights, three colors and three textures to guide her plantings. But this is just a guideline — feel free to ignore it when inspiration strikes.
3. Serendipity happens with garden design
Be open to plants not behaving the way you expect. Not every design turns out as planned, and that’s OK.
4. Choose double-duty container plants
Get the most out of your container plantings by buying plants that can do “double duty” in the garden. Whether it’s a young specimen tree that can be moved into the garden later or perennials that can be planted in the border in fall, these versatile plants add long-term value. Watch the video below to see Christina’s container tips in action.
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Plant a patio container that looks good from every angle
This container sits on a patio that greets friends and family to outdoor gatherings, so it needed 360-degree beauty. Because the New Zealand flax is planted off-center, the planting has a different look from every angle. Christina expected the celosia and crassula to grow upright habits. Instead, the stems were more relaxed but the combination still looked great.
The celosia’s vibrant blooms balance the sweeping vaselike foliage of the flax, creating a dynamic look that’s easy to see from anywhere in the yard.
Container plant list (number to plant)
A) New Zealand flax Phormium ‘Black Adder’ (1)
B) Licorice vine Helichrysum petiolare ‘Limelight’ (2)
C) Celosia Celosia argentea spicata ‘Intenz’ (5)
D) Crassula Crassula capitella ‘Campfire’ (1)
E) Sweet potato vine Ipomoea batatas ‘Sweet Caroline Red’ (1)
Container is 14 inches in diameter
Mix annuals and perennials for long-lasting patio planters
Getting plants in the right spot in the border makes a difference in how well they grow, and Christina has found that it makes a difference in containers, too. On the hottest, most exposed side of this pot she placed the sedum and annual geranium. The other side (with the coleus) gets a bit of shade from the border and the taller container behind. Campfire coleus can grow to 28 inches tall and may need a trim once or twice so it doesn’t overshadow its sun-loving neighbors.
Double-duty plant tip
If you live where winters get below freezing, transplant the sedum in the ground a few weeks before the last expected frost and overwinter the New Zealand flax and echeveria indoors until spring.
Container plant list
A) Cordyline Cordyline australis ‘Red Star’
B) Coleus Plectranthus scutellarioides Campfire
C) Geranium Pelargonium hybrid
D) Echeveria Echeveria ‘Ruffles’
E) Sedum Sedum hybrid
F) Coral bells Heuchera Forever® Purple
Container is 14 inches in diameter
Container designs by Christina Salwitz, The Personal Garden Coach
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