How I Use Pots and Containers to Create a Beautiful Garden

7 Design Tips from my Garden

While we can use our deck and the Shade House a lot during the winter, I long for the days in early May when we can finally start to fill the planters and bring pots out from the Greenhouse. It’s almost like bringing in the Christmas tree at the holidays – filling pots and planters and bringing out my overwintered plants makes everything feel festive and complete.

I have a lot of pots – large and small. And they have different purposes and functions depending on where they are placed. But as I wandered the garden a few days ago, I realized that I really have seven different ways that I use pots and planters with lots of examples of each.

And I know many people garden in containers completely! My second garden was all containers — dozens of plants clustered on a screened-in porch. It can be a liberating way to garden, frankly, and maybe that’s at the root of my love for container gardening.

Ok. Well, here are the 7 ways I’m using pots and planters in my garden right now… and some tips, too.

1. To Frame Doorways

I’ve written about this before, but I love a good porch pot. And in fact, I have pots around almost every exterior door. Entrances should be welcoming, and a pot of blooming flowers makes any entrance welcoming. But it also adds grace and charm to a doorway. It’s not just about guests and hospitality – but it’s about welcoming YOU home every time you step through your own doorway. We don’t save all of the good stuff for when company comes over! I love the welcome of a fragrant doorway, too!

2. To Fill in Gaps

Sometimes a gap opens up – intentionally or not – that needs to be filled in the garden. Popping a pot in that hole can be a quick and easy way to fill a space. In my case, I have gaps between the beds in the Cutting Garden. These are intentional, but they look a little odd up against the fence. So each gap is filled with an all-weather pot. They stay all year long, and I fill them with plants seasonally. The gaps disappear, and the pots give some height and drama to otherwise empty spaces.

3. To Soften Hard Edges

Our furniture is rather big and heavy. Don’t get me wrong: I LOVE it! We have lots of places to sit and to lounge. But it is heavy and substantial and not at all visually soft. So I have used strategically-placed pots to hide some of the metal edges. I use colorful, round pots filled with delicate and voluptuous flowers. The rounded shapes and spilling wildness tame the heaviness of the furniture just enough. Is this a Jane Austen garden? No, but it is certainly one that is comfortable and intimate.

Container Gardening Tips:

  • Water Frequently: Regular watering is key. Plants in pots dry out more quickly. Water at the soil level – not on the leaves – to be sure the plant is getting every drop.

  • Make it Easy: For easier watering, consider self-watering containers or using ollas. I use both, and they make watering simpler and vacations worry-free.

  • Feeding: your plants will need more regular feedings. Choose an organic feed and follow the instructions on the package. I like a liquid organic seaweed or tomato feed, but granular feeds are also great if you don’t want to feed as often.

  • Vacation Watering: when I am going to be gone for more than a few days, I cluster all of my pots that aren’t self-watering or are without ollas in the Shade House.

    • I put as many as possible into my large wagon and fill it with 8” of water or so.

    • The shade of the Shade House keeps all of the plants cooler.

    • I water everything deeply before I leave and then immediately again when I return.

      Having everything in one place makes watering simpler and easier, too, if you are hiring someone to water for you while you are gone.

4. To Expand my Plant Palette

Another gift of pots and containers is that you can grow plants that would otherwise suffer in your climate. Now, you know me. I’m big on native plants and plants that support local wildlife! That’s my jam! But those plants aren’t the only ones I enjoy. Not even close! And a lot of the plants I love are high-maintenance – tropicals that need lots of water, for example. These plants simply won’t work planted out in my landscape. But put them in a pot – especially a self-watering pot or with an olla – and they make themselves right at home. And I can overwinter them in the Greenhouse which allows them to live a full life – and saves me money year to year, too.

So if you see a tropical plant in my garden, that’s the scoop. It’s probably one which I have overwintered inside because I love it.

5. To Add Texture

Texture is so important in a garden. Adding plants with different leaf shapes and stem variations makes a garden more interesting and more vibrant. And container plantings are a big part of that, too. But it isn’t just about the plants. The containers themselves, when varied and diverse, add layers of texture to a garden space. I have a range of pots and containers – hand-thrown ceramic pots, large monolithic plastic planters, hand-painted Italian pots, even vintage concrete faux bois planters. The variety of planters themselves adds to the ambiance of my garden and creates interest.

6. To Add Color

In the same vein, pots and containers are a way to add color to the garden – especially colors which aren’t common amongst my perennial plantings. For example, there are shades of green which dominate tropical plants – acid greens and brighter greens – which are less common in native plants. But using them in my deck containers brings those shades into the garden where they might be completely absent otherwise. The same is true for flower colors. And of course the pots themselves bring color to a space, too.

The Pleat Pot from Crescent Garden

I bought my first Pleat Pots on sale one winter at my local garden center. They had a 10 year guarantee — and I knew I needed something to survive outside in all seasons. Thus began my love for Crescent Garden pots. I now have many Pleat Pots in multiple sizes. I plant them out every year in a variety of ways — with perennials and annuals. Some overwinter in the Greenhouse. Others stay outside. Those original pots still look as good as the day I bought them, too.

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Ready for your own self-watering planters? Crescent Garden is offering a discount for my readers! Lucky you!

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7. To Bring the Garden Closer

Honestly, this is probably the most important piece for me. Even when I am sitting on the couch on the deck, I want to be IN the garden. I want to hear bees buzzing and to smell the flowers wafting on the breeze. I never want the garden to be “out there” or far away. I want to be connected with the garden always. And that’s what containers and pots do – they are an extension of the garden, not separate from it.

at the close…

I hope these ideas are some that you can use, too. As I said, my second garden was completely in containers – on a closed-in porch. I filled that porch with all kinds of potted plants, though, creating a wonderful wild space where we lived from the earliest days of spring to the last warmth of autumn. Whether you are gardening in a large or small space, a few container plants can make all of the difference!

For more Container Gardening ideas and tips, check out this guide:

If you have questions, don't hesitate to ask!

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Happy Gardening!
Angela

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Gorgeous Porch Pots