by Melody on May 28, 2019

Containers! Oh I love containers... and I make quite a lot of them. This post mainly concerns color of the container although there are a lot of other things to consider such as light exposure and how much you really can water them; containers require regular watering and feed and they can dry out really fast.

Standard terracotta pots are always nice but a nice tomatoey red, bright blue or yellow, pots with colorful designs, and even black pots can really accentuate what you place in them. I always think of container color (and the plants in them) just as anyone would think about color in the home or even in fashion – complementary colors create harmony, monochromatic schemes can be very elegant, colors that create a little "clash" can be very dramatic and visually exciting.

First example – Santa Cruz begonias in a red pot; I can't say enough good things about this plant – doesn't mind sun or shade, takes heat and humidity, and just like most all begonias, does not mind drying out a bit. Blooms are quite large and eye-catching.



A monochromatic planting – shades of red and orange – elegant, draws the eye to a solid matching color. Now the same plants in a bright lime green pot – the effect is still beautiful and just a little more vibrant. The green and reddish orange are harmonious and the brightness of both colors really are dramatic together.



I do not have a finished picture yet but I added Torenia Moon Magenta to this pot to create a little "clash" and a little more contrast and drama. It is hard to describe the color of this Torenia but it is a very vibrant reddish purple and Torenia is a "workhorse" plant for my area of the country – tolerates heat and humidity and way more direct sun than the labels (tags) might lead you to believe. I have seen Torenia blooming like mad in full sun in 95 degrees plus heat. I will add pictures as soon as the pots fill in a bit but here are three matching pots on my front porch as of May 26th.



Now on to bigger mixed "arrangements". This lovely pot has Iresine Blazing Rose, red cordyline, Coleus Beauty of Lyon, and Gaura Belleza Dark Pink as the main focal points and the colors are really set off by the slate blue container. I then placed this pot down into a plum colored container which really blends in with the deeper colors in the foliage. I like both pots – I think the plum colored container is more elegant while the blue really makes the blooms and foliage stand out.





Here is another blue pot – imagine this arrangement in a standard terracotta pot – it would not be as stunning because the blue really highlights the bright greens and yellows of the dianthus, coleus "Wasabi", lysimachia, coreopsis, and duranta.



Here is a very elegant pot – a cocoa brown container really accentuates the silver, brown, and light pink color scheme. This pot contains carex "Red Rooster", euphorbia "Breathless Blush", coleus "Velvet Mocha", gaura "Belleza Light Pink", geranium "Dynamo Light Pink", and calla lily "Samur", as well as dusty miller, trailing silver helichrysum and emerald green triple curly parsley. The foliage of both the gaura and the euphorbia has a lovely brownish-bronzey tint – I love using both of these plants in containers.





I always keep my eyes open for colorful, eye-catching, or simply "cool" containers that I can put plants in – end of season sales, garage sales, thrift stores, and even trash bins (yes I do that!!); You can always find the perfect plant for that idea you have and everything really depends on what mood you want to create – elegant, fun, show-stopping – I really do believe that plants in containers are fashion statements. I make lists of colors: orange (my favorite), yellows, blacks, pinks, silvers, etc. and all the plants that come in those hues and that is where I start shopping and choosing the plants I want to mix in a pot. I'll share more container pictures over the summer as I find or make new ones.  

With all that being said – on to a new project – I planted a bed of regular bedding plant begonias this year (Bada Boom series); well, to be honest, it was actually half a bed. Then I decided, before I finished planting, that I would love to trial the Big and the Whopper series of begonias – these begonias get huge and are supposed to be great in landscapes. So my half-bed is now a full-bed of lovely blooming begonias – the Bada Booms, then the Bigs (next size up), and then the Whoppers. I will watch these all season and see how they perform in the landscape and how they size up in the end.

Also – I finished my granddaughters' secret garden and will have pictures very soon. It is pretty simple, very bright, and I think they'll love finding it!