Create Our Simple Container Gardening Flower Combos

Inside: With spring finally sprung and just in time for Mother’s Day, our DIY container gardening flower combos take the guesswork out of creating the perfect planter. A great gift for that someone special—which just might be you.

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Here We Go Again

Mom and I are at it again. Doin’ the DIY thing. Creating pots of flower pairings that are easy to put together. We’re just in time for Mother’s Day, which can include any special mother or motherly figure you want to honor. And, of course, your actual mother. Interestingly, Mom always gives me and the wonderful women who married my three brothers, gifts for the occasion. She’s like that, my mom!

It Starts With . . .

But back to flower talk. It starts with a sturdy pot, which can range from some gorgeous ceramic container to an affordable dollar store find. For our purposes, we chose the latter. So after a quick run to the Dollar Tree, we selected a typical plastic ten-inch pot and some lovely black dirt in the form of potting soil. I actually spent more on the soil than the pot, which spurred a discussion with Mom about the kind of people who get excited about dirt—namely us! I know, right? The people you meet in rural America. . .

Anyway, remember the previous post with that photo of lovely flowers? Those ended up in our container, plus, while we were at it—or, rather, while Mom was at it, with her hands plunged in the dirt and I snapped photos—we put together two more pots to offer a few options. By the way, these containers are for full sun, which means six to eight hours of sunlight per day. Note: If you are local reader, check out Sugar Grove Growers for their unique selection of plants on the cheap. That is where we purchased these.

Our Simple Containers

container gardening flowers — Mom putting together our dollar store planter.

In the black planter we kept it simple with three Durango Marigolds from a four-pack and two small pots of purple calibrachoa. Mom placed the three marigolds in the back and the calibrachoa in front because of its trailing habit.

The cream-colored container is our thriller, filler, spiller selection. What do we mean by thriller, filler, spiller? The thriller is the plant growing in the center—you want your tallest flower here. For the filler choose plants which are shorter but tend to fill in the space around the center flower. Spillers are your plants that trail down the planter or basket, typically in front, though if you have enough room you could plant them all around the outer edge. We chose Bidens Beedance, Euphorbia Euphoric White, and Diascia Darla Deep Salmon.

container gardening — Mom gently squeezing the root ball before transplanting.

Incidentally, this particular pot is self-watering. At the bottom it has a lower compartment which collects the excess water, which saves time by not having to water as often. An opening on the side directs water to the bottom for getting water to the root system quicker as well. Flowers always do particularly well for me in these containers. I bought mine at Walmart years ago, and recently I found them at Amazon.

In our clay pot we chose what some might consider an odd plant among the flowers—red cabbage. But wait, that’s not a flower. Yes, Virginia, you’re absolutely right. But if you’re a fan of planting succulents, you will probably be a fan of planting typical red cabbage in planters for ornamental purposes. I tried this by accident last year when I ran out of space in my vegetable garden for a couple of red cabbage plants and popped those babies into a container placed among my flowers. The purple-blue-green colors of the cabbage were attractive and the plant hardy, lasting the entire season with little from me but regular watering. No, I didn’t harvest any cabbage heads. They didn’t have room to spread out and it was late in the season, anyway, but they added beauty and interest to my container garden. In many parts of the country it’s getting too late to plant cabbage for food (at least until fall planting) which makes it a bargain if you can find them to transplant into your pots. Trust me, they’re lovely and add texture. Plus you’ll be the talk of all your gardening pals for your ingenuity.

More Sun-loving Varieties

You certainly don’t need to be limited by our choice of plants for our containers. Some other great suggestions include geraniums, vinca, marigolds, petunias, purslane, moss roses, and zinnias, though we’re only scratching the surface with these. Ask at your local garden center or nursery for more ideas, or see what catches your eyes and check out the stick stake for details.

Shade-loving Plants

Maybe you are sun-challenged where you live—or your gift recipient is—and you’d like a few ideas for the shade planters. Try begonias, impatiens, coleus, and torenia for starters. I often mix various colors of coleus in an old barbecue kettle grill, and it looks great in the shade. I also pair begonias with coleus that have complimentary colors.

Tips for Flower Container Gardening

Read your stick stake! Pay special attention to light and water needs as well as height and growing behavior (trailing, spreading, etc.).
Make sure your pot is big enough to accommodate your flowers. Also check to see your pot has holes in the bottom. (You’ll thank me after a downpour.)
Don’t be afraid to squeeze the root ball when transplanting. What is a root ball, you might be wondering? The main mass of roots at the base of a plant. Cover the roots but don’t bury the stem or mound potting soil around it.
Group like-minded flowers together. In other words, don’t mix shade lovers with sun worshipers. Or, mix them at your own risk!
Pair complimentary colors and textures of plants together. If you’re not good at putting colors together, take note of hanging baskets and containers where you shop for plants.
Be brave and pinch off the flower heads after transplanting. Why? Because your plants will spread out and create more flowers. This is probably the biggest advice Mom gives customers buying flowers.
Most of all, have fun with your flower project. Dig your fingers into the soil, and once you’ve put together your beautiful planter and washed the dirt off your hands, you might just discover a green thumb!