In my garden these days . . . the containers are doing a lot of the heavy lifting. This is the time I take pictures . . . and take note of what’s working, what’s not, and what I want to remember for next year.
Join me . . . as I “grade” my 2025 container plantings!
I know that I just shared that photo, above, the other day. But so many of you asked about it that I decided to feature it again, with some information about the plant. Those “hanging” blossoms. . . are an abutilon megapotamicum (trailing abutilon). I found it at my favorite nursery this spring, and I stuck it in a container on my front porch to see what it would do. It has bloomed like that ALL summer! I love it – and I’m going to try to bring it in for the winter. I don’t have high hopes for success, as I tend to have very mixed results with houseplants. . . but it’s worth a try.
Now . . . back to my containers.
Let’s start at my front door . . . because I like to make an impact with the flowers at my entry.
A couple of years ago, I invested in some nice, glazed terra cotta pots for my porch. It was . . . A Process. I couldn’t decide between interesting, bold pots . . . or plain pots that I could fill with interesting, bold plants. Ultimately, I went with . . . well . . . kind of a compromise: two black pots and one “splurge pot” (that tall kind of teal-ish pot on the left). This is my second season with those pots, and I give them an A-plus, for sure. I love everything about them.
When it comes to planting my containers, I generally change things up out there on the porch every year. I always follow the thriller-spiller-filler formula for containers, but I try to mix things up when it comes to the foliage and blooms (although you will almost always see some type of lantana in the mix . . . because they bloom like crazy, especially later in the summer).
Lately (last four years), I’ve been planting at least one perennial in my porch pots. It’s kind of a risk . . . because they usually have a shorter bloom time than the annuals . . . but I like to sort of test them out. In the fall, when the planters get tired and it’s time to switch things out for the fall, I suss out those perennials and plant them somewhere in the garden. It’s been a great strategy for me, and the perennials are a nice addition to my garden. They also provide a nice “memory” for me each spring when they pop up in the garden. I call them my container-dividends.
This year’s porch pots are filled with . . . calibrachoas (the mini petunia-like things), some sort of succulent (I can’t remember the name of, but it’s readily available at most nurseries; it gets rather insignificant little pink blooms from time to time), orange lantana, verbena (another frequent pot-plant for me), some (super) disappointing annual salvia, and the perennial – this year a scabiosa butterfly blue (which was pretty spectacular earlier in the season; it’s fading now, but will be nice in my garden next season). And, of course, the real pìece de résistance . . . that trailing abutilon in the tall pot.
Overall, I’m pleased. The pots looked great all summer long — even from the street (which is a long way down from my porch, so that’s saying something). Butterflies and bees have been plentiful. I am, though, disappointed with those annual salvias, and I wish the scabiosa had made a bigger impact, but that abutilon and the calibrachoas really worked for me this year.
Final grade: A-
Moving on to the back garden . . . where I’m much more lazy and uninspired with my container plantings. (Besides . . . the actual garden does the heavy-lifting back there.)
In years gone by, I used to go a bit overboard with containers on the patio. By the end of the summer, it was nearly impossible to FIND the actual containers (to water, for example) because of the jungle-effect I’d created with all the flowers. It was actually hard to move around or sit and have a conversation on the patio.
So I pared WAY back a couple of years ago – and I’m much happier. Now, I depend on Boston ferns. Every year. I love them. They work. It’s easy.
I also have four containers out there. Lately, I’ve taken to just filling them with tall annual grasses. I like the way they look, generally. They’re easy to care for. And then, in the fall, it’s easy to add a few mums-and-pumpkins and keep them going for a few more months on the patio. It works. Nothing stellar or unique, but interesting . . . enough. It also saves me money. (I kind of hate spending a lot of money on annuals. I’d rather invest in perennials and trees . . . )
I also have a few little planters tucked here and there in the back garden: A little pot of zinnias, a few geraniums, a bigger planter with annuals/perennials (that I will transplant into my bigger garden in the fall), and a few little plants I just . . . liked and may end up bringing inside at the end of the season.
Final grade: a solid B.
Ain’t nothin’ wrong with a B, y’know?
Bottom line: In the front, I like my containers to make an impact with color and variety, but in the back and on my patio, I’m more interested in . . . creating a comfortable vibe without creating a flower-jungle. I’m really looking for a little bit of fun here and there. It works for me. And I have a little fun with color and texture . . . without spending a fortune or creating a lot of work for myself.
E for Effort!
(But not much, y’know?)
How about you?
Do you enjoy container gardening in your outdoor space?
I would give you an A+ for an evolving strategy that produces a lovely container garden that is practical. I love container gardening, but I have yet to find plants that really do well around my front door. It faces west, and it is hotter than blue blazes out there in the afternoon since I lost the oak in my front yard. Everything I put out there eventually gets cooked. I hung ferns out there from the overhang, but they did not do well. BTW, I love ferns. Ideas? I am currently having my back porch updated, and it faces east. I am looking forward to having a lot of fun on that porch. I think your process of having perennials that you move to your garden is very smart.
Everything looks great Kym! I like the idea of moving things to your garden once container season is finished. And I like the idea you have on your patio for being able to add mums and pumpkins as the Fall approaches. I just have two hanging baskets (petunias) on our back patio which have done well all Summer. And we have a window box at one of the kitchen windows which Fletch fills each year – always some sweet potato vine and some tall grassy thing and then spots of color here and there – usually blues and/or reds.
Your containers are an inspiration. I have moved to mostly containers in all garden areas because we have so my voles who love to eat the roots. I am at the point of trying to make some plans for next year. This summer was just a mix up up of impulsive choices.
My patio is all containers (of many sizes) and the star this year was that unnamed succulent with the occasional pink flower. I love the way it drapes down the sides and the pink just makes my heart feel good. Most of everything I planted didn’t do well in the heat but now that there is more shade they have started to blossom again. One thing I know is many usual flowering plants don’t do well and I need to more to more grasses and greenery. I wish I had you near to help me.
Wow! You’ve created some beautiful spaces (and planters). I am not the gardener — this year we have a mix of mostly petunias hanging on the little porch outside our dining room that have done well. Chuck has a timed watering set up that works, and I’ve done a better job at cutting them back now and again. Around are back patio are pots of herbs. Not so lovely but useful. Our back/side door, which is all anyone uses except an occasional delivery driver, faces southwest and anything there bakes. Anything planted there needs multiple waterings a day. This year I gave up. We’ll see about next year.
As an avid container gardener, I truly appreciate this post and I love hearing about your strategy and plans when it comes to choosing your plants for your containers. We sort of have the opposite going on with our gardens. My front yard is all about the foundation garden – which you helped me design, of course! And other than the window boxes (only red geraniums this year and they look the best they ever have) it’s all perennials all the time out there. I also have the raised beds on the sort of side of the front, if that makes sense. (This is what happens when you have an L-shaped farm house with a front door and kitchen door on the same side of the street. I have a small perennial bed around the back of my deck but I mostly rely on containers for color and interest on the deck. I plant a lot of coleus and sweet potato vines, along with flowering plants like petunias, lantana, gromphrena, etc. I have about a dozen or more but it’s a big space and they are tucked into corners and between the furniture. They add a LOT of eye appeal and are really thriving right now thanks to Dale’s constant watering. I have Boston ferns and more coleus and caladium in pots around/under the pergola. I should probably do a post similar to this one!
I just love your gardens and containers. Just beautiful! I’ve never considered tall grasses for any of my pots – I may have to consider that next year.
I think everything is absolutely gorgeous.
Your containers look fabulous, Kym – A+ all around! I managed our containers for years … until Marc retired and now he does all of it. He likes a “more is more” concept with the pots on our front porch – and we definitely have the most variety and color in the neighborhood! He scaled back the screened porch pots this summer – one fern (that over-wintered in the garage and honestly looks better this year), and four other “green” pots. Two of those are plants that live inside during the winter… He definitely gets an E for effort!
I love this review, and everything looks spectacular! I have a few containers, but would like to go a little bigger & add some drama one of these years — especially out front. The back porch is usually planted with herbs & tomatoes, but this year we added some cosmos & zinnias — the pops of color are fun! That trailing abutilon is on my watch list for next year!
I always learn so much from these posts, Kym! Planters are the largest point of contention in my house… Steve thinks it is the largest waste of money, but I love your idea of “trying out” perennials in pots! I might be able to sell that idea! This fall, my hope is that we will add two trees to our backyard… it really needs more shade!
Your “B” is a lot of other people’s “A”! I am always in awe of your arrangements. Way back when I had a porch I would make annual stabs at container gardening. The poor geraniums were always so thirsty in their terra cotta pot by the front door. I loved the look but it was many years before I learned that unglazed terra cotta soaks up water intended for the plant. I did much better with pansies which one year even overwintered (a miracle year). But my favorites were the New Guinea impatiens. Placed on a ledge against a dense green privacy hedge, their dark glossy green leaves against their crisp white and red blossoms gave off such a cooling effect on a scorching hot summer day. I used to love to sit there in my little nook and drink in their imaginary summer “breeze”.
I always love to see your front containers (well, all your containers, but the front ones always seem to be my favorites). The only container I really have is a pot in the back where I have a lone sunflower that has yet to bloom. It’s been a tough year for plants with the heat and lack of rain, and with the dog this year, I haven’t really put in the effort. But you are always a source of inspiration to me!