Container gardening

TABLETOP_CENTREPIECE_SUCCULENTS_Karen-Chopp_for-April-23

Design tips and plant combination ideas for containers

Colleen Zacharias

Creating and designing a container garden is an opportunity to experience an outstanding spectrum of colour and texture. Moveable feasts, container gardens offer a luxuriant start to the growing season and the potential for eye-catching displays that can be enjoyed during the hottest months of summer and into the cooler temperatures of autumn.

Creating a spring container

Beckie Fox

If you’re keen to start gardening, but your soil is too cold and damp for digging, consider potting up a spring container instead. Depending on the weather, a few spring containers planted with beautiful, cold-tolerant plants now will give you several weeks of colour.

Myrtle is an easy topiary to maintain.

How to make an elegant topiary

Beckie Fox

A touch of formality is not out of place in most gardens. Trimmed cones and spheres of foliage — classic topiary — are especially suited to containers.

Tall blue salvia, coleus, double impatiens and English ivy. (Garden Making photo)

Perfect container plants

Beckie Fox

When shopping for container plants, it helps to have a list of favourites that you can always count on. Here are Beckie Fox's suggestions.

Cherry red ivy geraniums won’t shy away from intense sun and heat. (Photo by Garden Making)

6 container plants looking good in the heat

Beckie Fox

Container plants need to stand up to summer heat and humidity. Here are 6 container plants performing well for Garden Making Editor-in-Chief Beckie Fox.

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