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  4. 31 Colorful Spring Container Gardens

31 Colorful Spring Container Gardens

Southern Living May 2021 Cover
By Southern Living Editors
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Resilient Trio
Credit: Melina Hammer

Now that spring has officially sprung, it's time to cultivate your green thumb and assemble some beautiful flower combinations for container gardens. Container gardens offer the perfect landscaping solution for both gardening experts and rookies alike. Not to mention, they're an easy and affordable way to refresh your front porch or patio, while injecting some color into your outdoor space when you have very little room to plant. Get ready to spring forward into a new season with vibrant potted plants that are just right for the South. After a long, dreadful winter, you'll be grateful for these 30 heat-loving plants, blooming bulbs, and pretty annuals to capture spring in all its natural glory and create a welcoming front entrance to your home during warmer months.

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Baskets That Wow

Wicker Container Baskets In the top basket are Profusion zinnias, ‘Truffula Pink’ gomphrenas, and geraniums. The bottom one has begonias, Surdiva scaevolas, cleomes, and ‘Glitz’ euphorbias.
Credit: Container Design by Mark Thompson; Photo: Robbie Caponetto; Styling: Buffy Hargett Miller

Step into spring with woven baskets overflowing with blooms.

Choose Pretty Planters
Take a note from gardeners across the pond, and plant front-porch arrangements in wicker containers. These can withstand the elements for about three years (rain will give them a weathered look). Replace them after a few seasons, or line basket bottoms with chicken wire to keep using. Fill bottoms of taller baskets with recycled plastic bottles to keep them light. Line the sides with sheet moss and breathable landscape cloth.

Pick a Cheery Palette
Varying the heights and textures of blooms helps the pink-and-white color scheme pop. We lined the containers with sheet moss (which supports itself) and backed that with breathable landscape cloth before adding potting soil. In the top basket are Profusion zinnias, "Truffula Pink" gomphrenas, and geraniums. The bottom one has begonias, Surdiva scaevolas, cleomes, and "Glitz" euphorbias.

Make Them Last
Give these plants part to full sun (four to eight hours a day). Water them daily, and fertilize twice a week. Regularly deadhead spent blooms to help containers last all summer.

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Brighten Up Boxwoods

Tulip and Boxwood Spring Container Garden
Credit: Container Design by Mark Thompson; Photo: Robbie Caponetto; Styling: Buffy Hargett Miller

Prep your porch pots for spring with violas and adorably droopy tulips.

Give Containers Character
Velvety moss adds extra charm to plain terra-cotta vessels. Speed up the growth by applying a moss-and-buttermilk mixture on new clay pots and spraying them weekly with water.

Fill with Pretty Plants
Try dwarf English boxwoods, 'Icy Blue' violas, and tulips.

Make Them Last
Surround boxwoods with violas. Add potted tulips purchased from a garden center. (Or next year, plan ahead and plant some tulip bulbs in December or January for early-spring blooms.) Water plants, and let them drain thoroughly. Place in part to full sun. At the end of spring, replace the violas and tulips with summer annuals.

DIY Moss Mixture
Add some character to your pots by with moss. Combine equal parts live sheet moss and buttermilk in a blender until a thick liquid forms. Spread on pots with a paintbrush.

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Brighten Up with Blue and White

Blue and White Spring Container
Credit: Photo: Hector M. Sanchez

An effortlessly cool vibe is achieved here with three oversize cobalt-glazed containers, spilling with pale blue, white, and green blooms to complement the bright yellow hue of the "Meyer" lemon tree.

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Frame with Blooms

Climbing Blooms
Credit: Hector Manuel Sanchez

A mix of mostly pink and magenta blooms with pops of white and yellow are placed in three turquoise containers for a vibrant, beach-inspired walkway display. The mandevilla plant featured here is a common patio plant that can withstand the typical hot, muggy weather in the South.

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Pink-and-Lime Charm

Pink-and-Lime Charm
Credit: Hector Manuel Sanchez

Pink and lime hues are a no-fail pairing when it comes to summertime container gardens. Plant purple coneflowers, Cora cascade vincas, and sweet potato vines. Add another bold plant with height at the back to create some vertical interest.

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Bargain Blooms

Bargain Blooms

There's a three-part rule when it comes to planting containers: Start with a "thriller," such as daylilies or daisies. Then add in complementary "fillers," like salvias. Finish up the container with a "spiller," or in this case, sweet potato vines that slightly trail and cascade over the rim of the container. For a budget-friendly approach to the "thrill, fill, and spill" method, purchase vintage or galvanized buckets on sale at your local nursery.

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Traditional Freestanding Container

Pink and Yellow Zinnias
Credit: Alison Miksch

Usher in spring with a sunny arrangement of bright pink and yellow zinnias in different pots of various heights. Purple verbenas and blue calibrachoas are also tucked in the containers to fill out the base.

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Rustic Hanging Container

Rustic Hanging Container
Credit: Photo: Alison Miksch

A metal bucket is perfectly suspended here from a tree branch in the yard to add a little rusticity and Southern charm to your front yard. Periwinkles, Rieger begonias, coleus, and other annuals round out the hanging container garden.

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Romantic Tabletop Container

Romantic Tabletop Container
Credit: Photo: Alison Miksch

Dress up your outdoor patio area and accent tables with a container centerpiece. Here, dianthus is planted in layers for a romantic and precious display.

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Add a Tropical Punch

Tropical Inspiration
Credit: Melina Hammer

Easily transform your outdoor space into a tropical escape with bold orange SunPatiens, purple Persian shield, and big, heart-shaped 'Maui Gold' elephant's ear. It's a sight that makes you feel like you're on vacation without ever leaving the front yard.

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Showy Snapdragons

Snapdragons, Penny Violas, Tulips, Parsley and Ivy
Credit: Photo: Ralph Anderson

Play to the height of your containers with these bold, striking snapdragons. Fill and spill open spaces with tulips, parsley, ivy, and Penny violas.

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Made for Shade

Style in the Shade
Credit: David Hillegas

Here, a raised container planted with bright red, fancy-leaved caladiums and creeping Jenny make a sweeping statement and grand front entry arrangement that's too cool for the sun. Place this tall container in shady spots for low-maintenance care.

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Go For Gold

Golden Gems
Credit: Laurey W. Glenn

Good things come in threes, including this beaming trio of 'Ogon' golden sweet flag, 'Matrix Yellow Blotch' pansies, and 'Penny Clear Yellow' violas.

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Beat the Heat

Solo Planting
Credit: Helen Norman

It can be tricky to get bulbs to bloom in the dead heat of spring and summer. Luckily, you can mimic the same beautiful results by filling a single container with heat-tolerant 'Baby Tut' dwarf papyrus, elephant's ear, 'Blackie' sweet potato vine, and 'Vogue Audrey' mandevilla.

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Romantic Freestanding Container

Romantic Freestanding Container
Credit: Photo: Alison Miksch

Here, a deep, cast-metal urn is planted with variant shades of pink and purple flowers, such as pink dianthus, blue lobelia, and pink angelonia, to create one harmonious container arrangement that faintly sings of springtime.

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Grow Daffodils in Containers

Grow Daffodils in Containers
Credit: Photo: Roger Foley

In the South, there are many things we disagree on, but thankfully, one of them isn't growing sunny daffodil bulbs to enjoy during spring.

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Our 10 Best Container Gardens

If managing a full garden isn't your style, we recommend instead turning to these bright, bountiful container gardens for inspiration. We picked our ten favorites – a variety of outdoor containers, indoor greenery, and porch perfection.

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Fill a Big Container

Pink Petunia Window Box
Credit: Photo: Laurey W. Glenn

Make a lasting impact with this large, freestanding container filled with 'Diamond Frost' euphorbia, coleus, 'Supertunia Vista Bubblegum' petunia, and geranium. Incorporating the 'American Gothic'-inspired pitchfork is totally up to you.

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Pink Nature-Inspired Planters

Pops of Pink
Credit: Melina Hammer

This entryway porch trio was assembled with copper-toned, metal planters of different sizes, planted with sweet potato vines, pennisetum, and rosy-hued geraniums, petunias, and angelonias.

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Bring on Spring!

Bring on Spring!

An odd number of spring containers are carefully grouped together to create a warm, rich vignette, which includes fiery orange calibrachoa, pallid white sweet alyssum, and luminous yellow nemesia.

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Cascading Geraniums

Cascading Geraniums

When it comes to filling hanging containers and baskets, we say the more the merrier. Here, Mini Cascade ivy geraniums are planted to create a trailing and tumbling effect.

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Romantic Stair Step Pots

Romantic Stair Step Pots
Credit: Photo: Hector M. Sanchez

When a small porch or patio won't do for a large grouping of containers, the steps leading up to your home can serve as a beautiful focal point for flowers. Add a pop of color to your front entryway by tucking 'Caliente Pink' geraniums, 'Surfinia Rose Veined' petunias, and 'Techno Heat Light Blue' lobelias around the base of three neutral-shade containers.

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Twinspurs, Violas, and Kale

Pastel Pot
Credit: Laurey W. Glenn

May your containers runneth over with the plentiful pink blooms of 'Strawberry Sundae' twinspur, a flashy yet small perennial of the Diascia hybrid. Pair with violas and kale to really create a thrilling and spilling garden display.

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Stack Your Pots with Succulents

Succulents
Credit: Photo: Ralph Anderson

Potted arrangements of no-fuss succulents will last throughout the summer, with very little effort required on your part beyond giving this container a good soaking at least once a week.

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Bring On the Sun

Sun-Loving SunPatiens
Credit: Hector Manuel Sanchez

This bright and fresh miniature container garden of SunPatiens, foxtail asparagus fern, and 'Neon' pothos will thrive throughout spring and summer, even in direct, ambient sunlight.

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Geraniums Built for the South

Gorgeous Geraniums

Update a vintage container with bold, heat-tolerant geraniums and a backdrop of rambling green plants.

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Show Your True Colors

Shade-Loving Brights
Credit: Laurey W. Glenn

Let your Tiger pride shine with an LSU-themed container garden. A strong visual impact is made with a high-contrast foliage combination of deep purple and a bright, summery glazed pot. Even if you're not a football fan, this is still a showstopping display that will wow your guests.

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Into the Wild

Tulips, Pansies, Acorus, Heuchera, Ivy and Fern
Credit: Photo: Helen Norman

Tap into your inner wild child by planting free-flowing and colorful 'Tiger' fern with tulips, pansies, acorus, heuchera, and variegated ivy. Here, we let the plants grow and flow, just as good old Mother Nature intended.

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Warm and Cheerful Trio

Resilient Trio
Credit: Melina Hammer

Geraniums, calibrachoas, and mecardonias in bright red, yellow, and purple combine to make one pretty grouping in these whitewashed containers.

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Summertime Flair

Summertime Flair!
Credit: Laurey W. Glenn

Here, elephant's ear takes the spotlight. Placing it front and center in a concrete urn allows you to appreciate its oversize leaves up close and personal.

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A Quick Container Combo

Snapdragons Container Garden
Credit: Laurey W. Glenn

Unify your container garden arrangement by repeating the color of the pots, rather than the flowers. That gives you more freedom to play around with color and texture when it comes to creating a lush, springtime combination in each container.

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    View All

    1 of 31 Baskets That Wow
    2 of 31 Brighten Up Boxwoods
    3 of 31 Brighten Up with Blue and White
    4 of 31 Frame with Blooms
    5 of 31 Pink-and-Lime Charm
    6 of 31 Bargain Blooms
    7 of 31 Traditional Freestanding Container
    8 of 31 Rustic Hanging Container
    9 of 31 Romantic Tabletop Container
    10 of 31 Add a Tropical Punch
    11 of 31 Showy Snapdragons
    12 of 31 Made for Shade
    13 of 31 Go For Gold
    14 of 31 Beat the Heat
    15 of 31 Romantic Freestanding Container
    16 of 31 Grow Daffodils in Containers
    17 of 31 Our 10 Best Container Gardens
    18 of 31 Fill a Big Container
    19 of 31 Pink Nature-Inspired Planters
    20 of 31 Bring on Spring!
    21 of 31 Cascading Geraniums
    22 of 31 Romantic Stair Step Pots
    23 of 31 Twinspurs, Violas, and Kale
    24 of 31 Stack Your Pots with Succulents
    25 of 31 Bring On the Sun
    26 of 31 Geraniums Built for the South
    27 of 31 Show Your True Colors
    28 of 31 Into the Wild
    29 of 31 Warm and Cheerful Trio
    30 of 31 Summertime Flair
    31 of 31 A Quick Container Combo

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