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Summer Container Gardens We're Obsessing Over

Summer Container Gardens We're Obsessing Over

By Southern Living Editors

Updated May 09, 2017

Photo: Laurey W. Glenn

Plant a container garden for the summer season and add a dose of garden style to your porch, patio, or entry. These container gardening ideas are full of summer bloomers, they’re great in the heat, and they’re full of vibrant colors to add life to your seasonal gardening adventures. Borrow a few of our summer planter ideas for your home, and you'll have a gorgeous containers that will brighten your space and bloom all summer.

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Made for Shade

Design by Mark Thompson; Photo: Robbie Caponetto; Prop Styling: Buffy Hargett Miller

Brighten a blank patio wall with a vertical garden. Choose a matching set of planters (we like Metal Flat Back S/3, $156; peacockretail.com). Drill drainage holes in the bottoms of the containers. Make three additional holes in the front of each, and then use tin snips to cut out triangular openings that are large enough to fit one plant. Fill containers with potting soil and plants before mounting. The following picks will withstand late-summer heat with regular water in part to full shade.

Left container: shrimp plant, ‘Aqua Marine’ pilea, variegated pteris fern, selaginella, sword fern, arrowhead vine

Middle container: asparagus fern, ‘Triostar’ stromanthe, ‘Neon’ pothos

Right container: ‘Neon’ pothos, arrowhead vine, selaginella

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Sunny SunPatiens Pot

Hector Manuel Sanchez

In summer, when in doubt, go with SunPatiens. This sun-loving container incorporates 'Variegated Spreading Salmon' SunPatiens, foxtail asparagus fern (which adds some whimsy), and 'Neon' pothos. Keeping the color palette to two—peachy blooms for impact and bright, limey greens for substance—give the container a lively presence. There’s nothing sweeter (or more summery!) than a fern-SunPatiens combo.

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Hanging Blooms

Alison Miksch

Dress up your favorite hanging container with dianthus and petunias. Add extra oomph with the addition of English Ivy and baby’s tears spilling over the sides. Don’t be afraid of mixing colors and textures here. The more variety, the better.

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Late Summer Fire

David Hillegas

Spring gets all the press, but let’s give late summer its due. It needs a gorgeous container too. This container is filled with 'Rustic Orange' coleus (Solenostemon scutellarioides), 'Compact Hot Coral' SunPatiens (Impatiens sp.), and 'Yellow Moon' wishbone flower (Torenia sp.). Plus, it’s as easy as can be to maintain.

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Geraniums with Personality

Summer-blooming Calliope-series geraniums take center stage in this arrangement, which makes the most of their bright scarlet hues. Pair ‘Dark Red’ geraniums with varied greenery and plants that have interesting architecture, like the tall purple filler in the background of this container.

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Shade-Loving Combo

David Hillegas

Combine caladiums, creeping Jenny, and white wishbone flower for a whimsical summertime container garden. Here, we used 'Celebration' and 'Florida Sweetheart' caladiums for a vibrant planter with a graceful spill of creeping Jenny from the elevated container.

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Bold Hues

Alison Miksch

When in doubt, add color. This subtle container (contained in a brick wall!) is enlivened with dianthus, petunias, and baby’s tears.

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Easy Elegance

Southern Living

This stately container garden builds height in the plantings by thinking horizontally. Keep a dark, plummy filler planted low in the container, then build blush blooms atop the lowest layer. Finally, add the brightest, most showstopping plant at the highest point. Easy and elegant, it's as simple as that.

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Unexpected Summer Mix

Alison Miksch

A container with lantana and impatiens will bring both color and butterflies to your space. Add in maroon Joseph’s coat, green coleus, and yellow creeping Jenny for a lively mix with all the eye-catching colors and textures of summer.

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French Field

Laurey W. Glenn

Channel a rolling French field filled with herbs by creating these elegant and natural containers. The waving height and the mix of colors is charming. Add your favorite herbs and other plants to the mix. Don’t be afraid to mix in edible ones too. Here, we worked with salvia, rosemary, coleus, and kale.

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Citrus Containers

Photo: Laurey W. Glenn

Why didn’t you think of it before? Incorporating lively plantings at the base of a citrus tree isn’t just beautiful. It’s equal parts stunning and functional. You’ll be happy to have oranges (or lemons and limes) when harvest time comes round. Keep the base plantings natural, wispy, and wild.

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Elephant’s Ear Charm

Laurey W. Glenn

Elephant’s ear is a too-often overlooked container garden addition that can add big impact to a little pot. Keep the container looking a bit unruly, with varied colors, textures, and heights. A few elephant’s ears emerging from the top add just the impact you’re looking for in your summer container.

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Tropical Treat

Melina Hammer

This gorgeous container combines vibrant lime ‘Maui Gold’ elephant's ear, deep orange SunPatiens, purplish Persian shield, and a spill of angel vine for a tropical-inspired plant design.

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Vibrant Variety

Photo: Ralph Anderson

These lush containers look intricate, but they couldn’t be easier to put together. Combine snapdragons, Penny violas, tulips, parsley, and ivy for an elemental, architectural mix.

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Lovely Lantana

Hector Manuel Sanchez

Bring butterflies galore to your summertime container by planting it with lantana. Add other plants with complementary sun and water requirements, or keep it simple and plant only lantana.

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Sunny Mix

Southern Living

These plants—orangey coleus and bright yellow lantana—stand up to even the hottest Southern summer conditions.

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Thrilling Tulips

Photo: Helen Norman

Take advantage of May-blooming tulips in this container, a perfect design for early summer. A lively combination of tulips, 'Tiger' fern, Lavender Blue' and 'Purple Wing' Plentifall pansies, acorus, heuchera, and variegated ivy. It’s a vibrant combination that adds some drama to your entry.

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Duo Hues

Photo: Hector M. Sanchez

Keep your palette to two colors for instant elegance. Here, a coastal-inspired blue patio is elevated with deep greens and pops of fresh white blooms in multiple containers. (A "Meyer" lemon tree is also a fun addition.)

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Singular Strategy

Southern Living

Choose just one plant to make a streamlined (but bold) statement in a container. Pretty pink petunias do the trick.

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Pink-and-Lime Charm

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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Dazzling, Dangling Garden

Southern Living

Hang a container of impatiens, spider plant, blooming begonias, ferns and spilling ivy for a dramatic container that thrives in the shade.

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Pretty Purples

Laurey W. Glenn

What better time to incorporate vibrant violet hues into your space? Choose your favorite purple blooms and combine them with captivating, and architecturally interesting purple-and-green filler plants of all different textures.

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Zippy Zinnias

Robbie Caponetto

These zinnia blooms lend cheery color to an indoor or outdoor container garden.

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Je ne sais quoi Trio

Laurey W. Glenn

It just has that something special. Together, 'Strawberry Sundae' twinspurs, violas, and kale are a winning combination.

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Stylish Snapdragons

Laurey W. Glenn

We’ll happily take advantage of any excuse to incorporate snapdragons in a container. The cheery pinks and yellows of these containers add life, but don’t overwhelm the space. Adding two pots with single plantings grounds the vignette.

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Dainty Lavender Hues

Southern Living

You need just a few ingredients for this garden dish. Combine hostas, violas, and blue phlox in your vessel for a dainty container garden with plenty of charm.

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Double the Containers

Laurey W. Glenn

This entry has a double layer of containers. Nearest the door, 'Blue Point' junipers, 'Ogon Gold' Acorus, and creeping Jenny adds height. Liberty snapdragons, marigolds, crimson dianthus, and more creeping Jenny add continuity and color in front to tie the scene together.

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Individual Impatiens

Southern Living

Perfect for a Southern summer, impatiens can stand up to the South’s notoriously hot weather. Add scale with large planters and plants. It’s a simple technique, but it creates major impact.

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Charming and Subtle

Southern Living

This pretty, delicate container plays with shades of white, garden green, lime green, and cornflower blue to create a subtle, playful garden element.

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Mega Style

Southern Living

Add some mega flora to your container design this year. Go big or go home in terms of scale, as we did with these elephant's ears.

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Wild Textures

Southern Living

This gorgous container packs a punch in a small area. It makes the most of its square footage by layering caladiums and dainty blooms.

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By Southern Living Editors

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Summer Container Gardens We're Obsessing Over

1 of 31

Made for Shade

1 of 31

2 of 31

Sunny SunPatiens Pot

2 of 31

3 of 31

Hanging Blooms

3 of 31

4 of 31

Late Summer Fire

4 of 31

5 of 31

Geraniums with Personality

5 of 31

6 of 31

Shade-Loving Combo

6 of 31

7 of 31

Bold Hues

7 of 31

8 of 31

Easy Elegance

8 of 31

9 of 31

Unexpected Summer Mix

9 of 31

10 of 31

French Field

10 of 31

11 of 31

Citrus Containers

11 of 31

12 of 31

Elephant’s Ear Charm

12 of 31

13 of 31

Tropical Treat

13 of 31

14 of 31

Vibrant Variety

14 of 31

15 of 31

Lovely Lantana

15 of 31

16 of 31

Sunny Mix

16 of 31

17 of 31

Thrilling Tulips

17 of 31

18 of 31

Duo Hues

18 of 31

19 of 31

Singular Strategy

19 of 31

20 of 31

Pink-and-Lime Charm

20 of 31

21 of 31

Dazzling, Dangling Garden

21 of 31

22 of 31

Pretty Purples

22 of 31

23 of 31

Zippy Zinnias

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24 of 31

Je ne sais quoi Trio

24 of 31

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Stylish Snapdragons

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26 of 31

Dainty Lavender Hues