Pots and planters with panache
Gone are the days when you could feel good about just picking up a couple red geraniums and some pink wax begonias. The pressure is on. These days pots and planters need panache.
So, before you head out to buy plants for your porch, deck or patio, think about what it takes to create planters with style.
Chances are, the gardener who planted up that beautiful pot may have shopped at the very same nursery as you. They may have travelled down the same aisles and may have chosen among the same 200 kinds of plants and 10,000 possible plant combinations.
The trick is all in the choosing. Plan the structure When you're selecting plants for pots, think about their eventual height, shape and growth habit. Most plants are upright, broad, or trailing. The most successful container combinations usually include at least one of each form.
Another sure-fire way of creating a strong, architectural statement is to place just one bold plant in the container. Candidates for this effect would include a thick, upright clump of bamboo or the perfect symmetry of New Zealand flax (phormium).
Consider flanking an entryway with a pair of dwarf Alberta spruce or false cypress. And a clump of ornamental grass, such as feather reed grass, makes a bold statement. Or focus all the attention on a trailing form; envision a tall, celadon-green urn filled with a burgundycoloured sweet potato vine. Consider the conditions
If you fill a windowbox with shade-loving impatiens and then put it in a sunny, west-facing location, those impatiens will struggle to survive. You will also fail if you try to grow sun-loving ivy geraniums on a shady porch. Think about where the pot will be located, and then select plants that will like living there. Plant labels usually list sun/shade requirements.
It's also important to combine plants with similar moisture requirements. Desertloving portulaca won't be happy growing in the same pot as moisture-loving hibiscus.
Soil preference is another key factor. A pot filled with rosemary, bay, and thyme should contain a sandy, sharply-drained soil mix that mimics the Mediterranean conditions these plants prefer. Fuchsia, on the other hand, wants a humus, moistureretentive soil that's similar to what's found in a wet tropical rainforest. Plant labels (or a well-informed sales assistant) will be able to provide this information.
Contrast textures
Foliage is just as important as colour in creating a successful container planting. Once you've gathered a group of candidates, think about the size of the leaves and their surface texture. Leaf textures range from waxy (ivy geraniums) to shiny (croton) to prickly (asparagus fern) or velvety (dusty miller). Contrasting foliage really grabs the eye.
For an exciting texture combination, imagine a hair-like tuft of the lemon yellow grass ogon (Acorus gramineus) with the spiky lime-green succulent Angelina (Sedum repestre), the waxy burgundy leaves of Sedum ‘Garnet Brocade' and the lacy flowers of diascia
Be bold with colour
A well-composed container planting can be as visually stimulating as a great painting. Generate energy and excitement by combining complimentary colours, such as purple and orange or yellow and blue. Or paint a more visually soothing composition by limiting yourself to related colours, such as blues and pinks or reds and yellows.
You can also create a stunning, very sophisticated look using nothing but greens, whites and silvers.
When selecting flower and foliage colours, you may also want to think about the colour of your house, the colour of your deck or patio pavers, and the colours in adjacent beds and borders.
That said, pots and planters present a great opportunity to experiment with dramatic colour combinations that you'd probably never dare to use in your permanent landscape.