Sunny combo for your container gardening

Beckie Fox

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Sunny container combination (Garden Making photo)
Sunny container combination (Garden Making photo)
Sunny container combination (Garden Making photo)

The beauty of container gardening is trying new plant and colour combinations every year.

Here a sunny container combo that I liked so much, I may recreate it again:

  • 1 red-edged green New Zealand flax (Phormium cultivar)
  • 1 golden box honeysuckle (Lonicera nitida ‘Baggesen’s Gold’)
  • 1 weeping brown sedge (Carex flagellifera)
  • 1 bronze-leaved sweet potato vine (Ipomoea batatas ‘Sweet Caroline Bronze’)
  • 2 gold lantana (Lantana ‘New Gold’)
  • 4 red French marigolds (Tagetes ‘Safari Red’)

These 10 plants filled an 18-inch (45-cm) diameter terracotta pot, sited in partial shade

The flax bulked up in a couple of weeks and provided more height to the composition. Only the lantana and marigolds needed occasional deadheading to keep the pot looking spiffy.

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2 thoughts on “Sunny combo for your container gardening”

  1. I just discovered your site via the Home Show e-mailings I subscribe to.

    I love this arrangement. Could you please suggest/post something similar that can be sited on a sunny, hot, east balcony; and one for the comming fall days?

    Regards

    Josie

    Reply
    • Hi Josie:
      Welcome! Most garden centres are beginning to offer plants for fall containers. Asters and mums like it warm and sunny, as do purple fountain grass and ornamental peppers–some of the newer ones are glossy, dark purple. Herbs and silver-leaved plants like it hot and sunny, too. Whatever combination you choose, make sure you check soil moisture daily–even if the days begin to cool, sun and wind can quickly dry out soil. For more fall container planting ideas, see the Fall issue of Garden Making–several ideas on pages 14-15. Beckie Fox, Editor

      Reply

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