To provide visual interest to a flower container, follow the concept of planting flower pots “Thriller Spiller Filler”. In that, you have to combine plants of different heights and sprawling habit in each pot.
1. Thriller
Thrillers are tall, upright plants that add the height
to the arrangement. Thrillers are the great way to add a vertical aspect
to your containers.
Thriller Plant Options
Ornamental grasses
Alocasia
Canna lily
Yucca
Aster
Coleus
Cosmos
Dracaena
2. Fillers
Fillers are covering plants that spread to fill the
gaps between the Thrillers and spillers.
Filler Plant Options
Geranium
Impatiens
Petunia
Pansy
Coleus
Dusty miller
Begonia
Pentas
Lantana
3. Spiller
Spiller plants are those that spill over the edges of
the container and cascade down.
Spiller Plant Option
Allysum
Million bells
Fuchsia
Helichrysum
Sweet potato vine
Mandevilla
Nasturtium
Morning glory
Bacopa
String of pearl
How to arrange plants
Step 1.
In order to organize the arrangements of plants in a
container consummately, start with the thriller-type plants. Plant them in the
center of the pot, so that they will not cover other plants and can be viewed
from all sides. Thriller plants must be the twice of the height of the
container.
Step 2.
Surround thrillers with filler plants. You can flower
fillers or foliage fillers or both if your container is big. Choose great
fillers, they will connect both the thrillers and spillers and add interest to
the arrangement.
Step 3.
At last, plant the spillers (trailing plants) near the
edges of the container so that they’ll grow naturally across the sides of the
container.
A Tip
When planting pots in thriller spiller filler style,
care to grow plants with similar growing requirements. Choose plants that need
a similar amount of growing conditions, location, sun, water, shade and climate
to thrive.
For example, you can’t grow a moisture loving plant
with the plant that needs dry soil in order to grow.
We’ve all seen backyards where the garden shed sticks out like a sore thumb. Maybe it’s the wrong color or style, or perhaps the shed is in need of repair. Help your garden shed stand out with a garden shed makeover, like adding exterior lights and repurposing rustic materials.
The easiest way to integrate a garden shed into your landscape is to work with the yard’s existing features. Start by placing the shed in a logical spot—next to a garden or in a back corner of your yard.
Next, camouflage the shed’s base with small trees, shrubs, and planters. Greenery will help your shed blend with its surroundings.
Giant planter boxes look pretty anywhere, but they work
especially well next to a garden shed. Galvanized troughs filled to the brim
with flowers and shrubs help further integrate the shed into the landscape.
Plus, their close proximity to the shed’s stash of garden tools make these
planters easy to care for. For added fun, plant containers with fresh herbs and
produce. Then, when you go to mix a drink, you’ll have garden-fresh garnishes
at your fingertips.
Create a pathway to your outdoor shed using pavers. Pavers
embedded in gravel or stones give your shed a simple surround and a no-fuss
patio. If you use pavers elsewhere in the landscape, use a similar shape, size,
and color to tie the spaces together. Or play off colors found on your home’s
exterior. Add a few pieces of patio furniture in similar shades and styles to
complete the look.
Window boxes give the shed facade a facelift. Rustic boxes
help break up the shed’s exterior wall color and add a dash of old-school
charm. Attach each box to industrial pipes with a length of durable rope. These
materials are cost-effective and add a dose of farmhouse style. Window boxes
can also bring seasonal charm to your shed. Plant fresh blooms in the spring
and summer, then switch to frost-tolerant foliage in the fall and evergreen in
winter.
Exterior lighting is a must-have for any garden shed. It
keeps you from getting lost in the dark, and also serves as a welcoming beacon
in the backyard. Opt for solar-powered sconces at every entry point, or line
the shed’s perimeter with traditional solar lights. If you’d rather have access
to electrical power, consider the location of your shed before building. It’s
easier to play off of existing outdoor outlets than to lay cables for new ones.
Bloodroot is more of a groundcover than a bedding plant, but
its small, white flowers can really brighten a shady or woodland garden. After
the flowers disappear, the blue-green leaves provide a nice foil for summer
flowers and even make a nice carpet on their own. Don’t worry, bloodroot is not
invasive and usually not even aggressive.
If can take several years for your bloodroot plants to
become established and start to spread, but they are fairly long-lived. There
are single and double-flowered varieties. The doubles are more expensive, but
they are gorgeous.
Growing Conditions: Bloodroot’s normal habitat is woodland,
but you can make it at home by adding lots of organic matter to your soil. Leaf
mold, the crumbly organic matter left by decayed leaves, is ideal for
bloodroot. It will give the plant the moisture it needs, but the soil will
still be well-draining, much as plants would get on the forest soil.
Exposure: Partial shade. Bloodroot can handle full sun in
the spring, but it will need some shady cover during summer’s heat.
Lately, the heart-shaped leaves of Brunnera have been
getting more attention than it’s brilliant blue flowers. Several new cultivars
of Brunnera have beautiful, creamy variegation. Whether you grow it for its
flowers or foliage, this is an easy plant to care for.
Because Brunnera emerges so early in the spring, the leaves
can get a bit tattered in summer. Simply cut them back and new leaves will fill
in. Brunnera is a slow growing plant, but it will eventually form a nice size
clump. The species and stabilized varieties may self-seed, but the variegated
varieties are slower to spread.
Brunnera tends to be short-lived. To keep it around longer,
divide the plants every 3 years or so. This will reinvigorate them.
Growing Conditions: Either plant Brunner in your shade
garden or under the shade of nearby taller plants. The blue flowers are very
early in the spring, so by the time something like a daylily starts to grow, it
won’t hide the Brunnera flowers, it will just protect the leaves.
Exposure: As with so many spring bloomers, Brunnera can handle
full sun in the spring, but it will do best in partial shade.
Lungwort (Pulmonaria)
Okay, it’s not the prettiest name, but it’s a fabulous early
spring flower. As with Brunnera, Lungwort has beautiful flowers, but the
emphasis lately has been on the flashy foliage. There are leaves that are
dotted, speckled, and splashed with white and silver. Unfortunately, the plants
tend to be ephemeral and fade away in the summer, but they’re center stage when
you really need them.
The flowers hold their own intrigue. The white flowers
remain clear white, while in bloom. But there are also flowers that start off
pink and turn blue after they are pollinated. So you have two different color
flowers on one plant.
Growing Conditions: Lungwort is a shade garden plant that
prefers a rich soil. Give it plenty of compost when planted and side dress it
every year to keep the soil rich and water retentive. Leaf mulch is a great
choice to use with shade garden plants. It mimics the soil in a forest and it’s
free.
Exposure: Partial shade to shade. Lungwort gives up quickly
in hot sun.
Creeping Phlox (Phlox subulata)
Creeping Phlox has probably caught your eye. It’s that
carpet of flowers that seem to spill across spots on lawns or over rock walls.
It’s usually planted in large masses, making a big splash that literally turns
heads. Creeping Phlox comes in pastel shades of pink and lavender and well as a
bolder hot pinks and clear white. The flowers don’t last terribly long, but
they put on quite a show while they’re here.
Growing Conditions: Creeping phlox can handle poor growing
conditions, providing it gets plenty of water. A richer soil will produce
lusher plants. Whatever your soil quality, creeping phlox will need extra water
during the summer, or it will easily get scorched.
Exposure: Full sun to partial shade. Creeping phlox flowers
better in full sun, but the leaves stay fresher with a little afternoon shade.
Pig Squeak – Bergenia cordifolia
Pig Squeak isn’t flashy, but it sure isn’t a wallflower,
either. Its flowers may tiny, but there are plenty of them and they’re held
high above the glossy, leathery leaves by burgundy stems. While Bergenia is an
early spring bloomer, the leaves can stay good looking all season. In the fall,
they turn a really nice bronze-red.
The species flowers are pink, but cultivars of Bergenia have
been bred with white, red, and violet blooms. The plants spread by rhizomes,
but not quickly enough to become a nuisance.It’s called pig squeak because
that’s the sound it makes when you rub its leaves between your fingers. Try it.
It’s guaranteed to make you laugh.
Growing Conditions: Pig Squeak plants need a rich, moist
soil or they will languish. Don’t skimp on the compost and don’t plant them in
a sunny dry spot.
Exposure: Full sun to partial shade. If you plant it in full
sun, make sure your soil can hold moisture.
Primrose (Primula)
It’s hard to categorize primroses. There’s the common
primrose (Primula vulgaris), cowslips (Primula veris) in buttery yellow, the
exotic candelabras (Primula japonica) that hold their flower clusters on tall,
straight stems, and the saturated colors of English primrose (Primula acaulis).
They all vary a bit in shape and size, but they all look best in large clumps,
particularly spreading out under trees.
Growing Conditions: Most primroses like a rich, moist soil
and cool weather. In fact, some, like the candelabra primroses, can handle
waterlogged soil.
Exposure: Full sun to partial shade. If you don’t have hot,
hazy summers, you can plant them in full sun and expect maximum flowering.
Where summer’s heat up, you’re better off planting them in partial shade.
Hardiness: USDA Hardiness Zones 3 to 9. Primroses need a
winter chill to bloom their best.
Mature Size: 6 to 12 inches (h) s 8 to 12 inches (w)
EP1 Evening Primrose
Solomon’s Seal (Polygonatum)
Solomon’s seal is eye-catching in a shade garden, with its
arching stems and dangling flowers. Even post flower, the glossy black seed
pods add eye appeal. Because it is a short plant that flowers downward,
Solomon’s seal looks best in large swathes that can spread out naturally in
your garden bed.
Solomon’s seal spreads by rhizomes, but not fast enough.
Your friends will all want you to share this plant with them.
Growing Conditions: Solomon’s seal likes the same growing
conditions of so many early spring plants – rich, moist soil. They don’t need a
lot of sunshine to thrive.
Exposure: Partial shade. You’re really growing Solomon’s
seal for its leaves and the shape of the plant. Growing it in sun will more
than likely scorch the leaves.
Hardiness: USDA Hardiness Zones 3 to 9
Mature Size: 1 to 4 ft. (h) x 1 to 3 ft. (w). Most are low
growing plants, but there are “Giant” Solomon’s seals (Polygonatum biflorum
var. commutatum) that can actually get as tall as 5 ft.
Virginia Bluebells (Mertensia virginica)
Poetry has been written about bluebells and many folks don’t
think spring has arrived until they see them in bloom. Much like lungwort, the
flowers don’t actually start out blue. They begin as pink buds and turn blue
later. But there’s no denying their charm, with dangling clusters of tubular
blue flowers.
Bluebells are yet another spring ephemeral, disappearing
shortly after they flower. Don’t fret, they’ve done their job for the season
and need the downtime to recover their strength. Besides, as they disappear,
they make room for other plants to shine.
Growing Conditions: Bluebells need a rich, moist soil in the
spring. They can handle a little bit drier soil in the summer when they’re
dormant.
Exposure: Partial shade to shade. Don’t try to grow these in full unless your climate is cool and wet.
