Designing a planter that pops.
How to choose plants that make the right statement.
Picking your plants is arguably the most exciting part of container gardening. But wait—before you rush to the garden center, spend a few minutes reading our time-tested design tips. Trust us: your plants and your budget will thank you.
Before you fill your cart with eye-catching annuals and show-stopping perennials, take time to consider your style and your plant needs. It’s easy to get distracted when you’re surrounded by every option under the sun. It’s smart to go in with a plan to help you make the best choices for you.
1. Define your style.
Your planter style has a big influence on the overall style of your container garden. If you have a large-scale modern planter, you will want to fill it with modern plant or flower choices, not traditional or country. If you have woven baskets or galvanized pails, you’ll do right to fill them with country style wildflowers or grasses, not tropical plants.
If your planter is more traditional or transitional, you have some room to play. You could do a mix of colorful flowers and foliage or stick to one type of plant. Not sure what style planter you have? If it’s a basic shape and a neutral color, it’s safe to assume it is either traditional or transitional.
Haven’t picked your planters yet? Read our tips for picking the perfect planter for every place.
2. Pick complimentary plants.
Just like planters, many plants and flowers have an inherent style. A palm tree makes a tropical statement. A manicured boxwood hedge has a formal style. Wildflowers have a country feel.
Choose plants that have a similar style to your planter. Formal planters should contain formal plants and arrangements. Informal planters can hold less formal options. We’ve included a few plant suggestions to get you started.
Modern
Try tall grasses or flowerless plants of all one height. Keep it simple and choose plants or flowers of all one type and color. Cacti or succulents can look modern if they are limited to one variety.
Farmhouse
You can’t go wrong with a wildflower mix or multi-colored flowers such as zinnias and geraniums. To soften your container garden and maintain an informal look, add plants or flowers that spill over the edges of the planter
Tropical
A palm tree is always a classic choice to create a poolside vacation vibe. Other colorful candidates are canna, begonias, and bird of paradise.
3. Consider plant height, texture and color.
Now that you’ve considered the general vibe of your plants, you need to think through how tall they are and how much texture and color they provide.
Height
Generally speaking, you can pick plants up to double the height of your container. They don’t have to be that tall, but they shouldn’t be much taller. If you want a more formal or visually clean look, keep all of your plants and flowers one height. More variety in height is less formal.
Texture
Every plant has its own texture, sometimes more than one texture. Look at the stems, leaves, blooms and every part of the plant that will show in your planter. All of them have some kind of texture. The more textural variety you have, the less formal your container garden will be. More uniform texture is more formal.
Color
You’ve probably thought of flowers having color, but don’t forget about leaf and stem color, too. The more colors you have going on in your planter, the less formal it will look. A great variety of colors will present as less formal.
Pro Tip
If you’re feeling a little overwhelmed by all the possible ways you could design your container garden, try this simple trick: thriller, filler, spiller.
Thriller
Choose one type of plant or flower as a focal point that draws attention. Usually, it’s tall and/or dramatic.
Filler
Fill in around your thriller with flowers or plants that give the arrangement body and bulk. These can vary in height but shouldn’t compete with your thriller.
Spiller
Soften the edges of your planter with vines or flowers that hang over the sides. This gives your planter a feeling of abundance.
4. Keep in mind plants’ need for light and water.
It’s not all about looks when it comes to picking plants. For a long-lasting container garden, you’ll also need to choose plants with compatible needs for light and water.
Light/Sun: Depending on the location of your planter, choose all shade, all full-sun, or all partial-sun plants. Otherwise, you’ll have some plants thriving and others dying before you’re ready to switch out your planter for a new season.
Water: Check how often the plants need to be watered. Choose plants with a similar watering frequency. That way, your container garden will stay properly hydrated without getting drowned.
Pro Tip
If you have your heart set on a particular flower or plant but it doesn’t jive with your sun and watering needs, you can mix in artificial plants and flowers with your real ones. High-quality artificial options can give you the look you want without the maintenance trouble.
We hope you’re feeling inspired, confident, and ready to tackle your unique container garden design. You’ve got this.
At PolyStone Planters, we’re committed to equipping you with lightweight, durable and stunning planters that exceed your expectations. We make container gardening easy, elegant and enduring.
Ready to start planting?
Give your container garden a firm foundation with our tips for prepping your planter.