Meet the Winners of the 2026 Container Challenge!
Spring is here, and garden centers will soon be bursting with colorful flowers and foliage perfect for container planting. Whether you’re sprucing up a patio, deck or border, the possibilities are endless — and sometimes overwhelming. Take inspiration from fellow gardeners to help you kick-start a design or get out of the same old routine.
Our readers have shared their most exciting creations, offering some stunning designs and unique plant pairings you can use to transform your outdoor spaces. In addition, you’ll find helpful growing tips and plant lists along with each design. Thanks to everyone who entered our 2026 Container Challenge, and congratulations to all the winners! Ready to dig in? Let these ideas guide your container planting plans this year.
Read More: See the 2026 Container Challenge Honorable Mentions
Enter Garden Gate’s 2027 Container Challenge!
Submit photos of your best container gardens, and we’ll choose our favorites to feature in a future issue of Garden Gate magazine. The containers can be any size, season or style! See full entry rules and submit your photos here.
Elegant Entry Container
Deborah Trickett, MA | @thecapturedgarden
With a focus on foliage, these traditional-looking urns provide a beautiful low-care greeting that lasts for months near this shady entry. Deborah wanted containers that were simple but made a dramatic impact, even from a distance. Stately snake plant is a great choice for grabbing attention, and she likes the way the purple foliage of the inch plant plays off the yellow siding. Both plants are easy to overwinter indoors. Deborah bought an inch plant in a hanging basket and split it to plant in both urns, and the divisions quickly took off.
Key container plants
A) Snake plant Sansevieria trifasciata ‘Ghost’
B) New Guinea impatiens Impatiens hawkeri Sonic® Light Lavender
C) Inch plant Tradescantia zebrina
D) Fanflower Scaevola aemula Whirlwind® White
Urns are 24 in. tall x 18 in. wide
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Colorful Shade Container
Kelly Stankelis, CT
Keeping this corner on Kelly’s shady deck colorful was easy last summer with a square blue ceramic container that perfectly fit the space. It was filled with cheery yellow Rieger begonias along with a supporting cast of chartreuse creeping Jenny and cool-colored wishbone flower, and topped off with a canopy of upright papyrus.
Kelly didn’t even have to deadhead these plants to keep the container looking great. Rieger begonias are a cross between tuberous and wax begonias, with flowers that can last for months in a cool spot out of the hot afternoon sun. And the wishbone flower is self-cleaning. All she needed to do to get a great performance was give this grouping a thorough watering two to three times a week.
Key container plants
A) Papyrus Cyperus papyrus King Tut®
B) Rieger begonia Begonia Amstel Blitz
C) Wishbone flower Torenia hybrid
D) Creeping Jenny Lysimachia nummularia ‘Aurea’
Container is 18 in. square
Fabulous Foliage-Focused Container
Lynnie Goss, OH
Lynnie loves creating containers with lots of color and texture, and last year’s planter was especially colorful. It sat next to her driveway under the kitchen window, where leaves stretched to frame her view.
This spot gets morning sun and shade for the rest of the day, so the caladium and fern leaves stay colorful without getting burned. The remaining container companions will grow just fine in full sun. Lynnie’s maintenance schedule was light. She fertilized a couple of times during the growing season, snipped off coleus blooms as they formed and removed fading caladium leaves.
Key container plants
A) Coleus Coleus ‘Wasabi’
B) Caladium Caladium ‘Burning Heart’
C) Australian sword fern Nephrolepis obliterata ‘Kimberly Queen’
D) Purple heart Tradescantia pallida ‘Purpurea’
E) English ivy Hedera helix ‘Golden Curl’
F) Sweet potato vine Ipomoea Sweet Caroline Sweetheart Mahogany™
Planter is 10 in. deep x 12 in. wide x 45 in. long
2026 Container Challenge Winning Prize Package
This year’s Garden Gate Container Challenge top winners each received the following prizes:
- A custom-engraved 30-inch ColorMark Rain Wand From Dramm
- $150 gift cards from Garden Crossings
- A set of three Woodland Tools
- A one-year subscription or extension to Garden Gate magazine
