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Container Gardening: designing
 Containers
can be planted with a single plant variety or color, or various plants and
hues can be mixed together. A whole pot of red geraniums, another pot full
of yellow marigolds and another pot of blue petunias can also be grouped
together to give a mixed-planter look.
Be sure that different kinds of plants in the same pot all require the
same sun exposure and water. Use plants of varying heights and textures to
contrast or complement each other. Designers use tall spiky plants like
grasses mixed with low, mounding plants like petunias, together with a
vine trailing down the side of the container.
 Let your
imagination run wild. Consider using ornamental grasses like fountain
grass or blood grass. Annuals that provide a cascading effect include
lobelia and sweet alyssum. Perennials such as verbena, salvia, rudbeckia
and coreopsis all work very well in pots. Vining plants like variegated
vinca, black-eyed Susan vine, hyacinth bean and morning glory can add a
different dimension to containers. For height, use plants like canna,
spider flower, spike or cosmos. Bulbs like caladium, begonia, gladiolus
and hardy lilies can be used to add distinctive lines to the planting
design. Dwarf trees, like dwarf Alberta spruce and other conifers work
beautifully, adding winter interest.
For "Container Gardening: basics" refer to message number 1001.
For more information, see the following Colorado State Extension fact sheet(s).
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