18 Container Plants Ideas
I love the look of pretty and neat container plants ideas whether it is flowers or herbs.
I am always so envious of those that have a green thumb and can make anything grow. I am not one of those people. I tend to stick with plants that are easy to grow and can stand the heat.
I also love plants that are in containers and can be easily moved around the yard. I have some in my backyard and I love to move them around to change the look of the yard.
I have been thinking about adding a few more containers to my yard so I have been looking for ideas. I found a lot of great ones and I wanted to share what I found.
1. Container plants for shade
If you have a shady yard, it doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a beautiful container garden. There are many plants that thrive in the shade and will add color to your outdoor space.
Shade-loving container plants can be mixed and matched to create a beautiful display. In this container, we have a mix of caladiums, impatiens, and fuchsia.
These plants will do well in shade and will add a pop of color to your outdoor space.
2. Container plants for sun
If you have a lot of sun, you’re in luck! There are so many beautiful plants that love the sun.
Some of the best flowers to plant in a sunny container are petunias, geraniums, and zinnias. And you can also plant sun-loving herbs like lavender and rosemary.
Don’t forget about container vegetables, too! Most of them need at least 6 hours of sun per day.
3. Container plants for a pop of color
If you have a small patio or a balcony garden, you can still add a pop of color with container plants. This garden design features a mix of annuals and perennials that will bloom all summer long.
The bright orange and red flowers in this container garden are sure to draw attention.
The tall spikes of red hot poker (Kniphofia) are the focal point, with the smaller flowers of calibrachoa and verbena filling in around the base.
The bright green leaves of the sweet potato vine (Ipomoea batatas) provide a nice contrast.
This container garden is planted in a large pot, but you can use the same design in a window box or a series of smaller containers.
4. Container plants for a container garden
Container gardens are a great way to add color and life to a small space. You can use a variety of containers, like pots, hanging baskets, or window boxes, to create a garden on your porch, patio, or even in a sunny window.
There are so many options for what to grow in your container garden, but here are some of our favorite ideas for container plants.
5. Container plants for curb appeal
Container plants are a great way to add color and interest to your front porch or steps, or to create a welcoming entryway. Here are a few tips for creating a beautiful container garden for curb appeal:
• Choose a variety of plants with different colors, shapes, and textures to create visual interest.
• Use a mix of annuals and perennials to create a long-lasting display.
• Consider the size of your containers and the amount of sunlight your entryway gets when choosing plants.
• Place your containers at different heights to create a layered look.
• Group containers together in odd numbers for a more natural look.
• Use a variety of containers, such as pots, urns, and window boxes, to add interest.
Some of the best plants for adding curb appeal with containers include:
• Petunias
• Geraniums
• Lantana
• Marigolds
• Coleus
• Sweet potato vine
• Calibrachoa
• Million bells
• Verbena
• Fuchsia
• Salvia
• Zinnias
• Impatiens
• Lobelia
• Heliotrope
• Nasturtium
• Snapdragon
• Dusty miller
• Gerbera daisy
6. Container plants for a privacy screen
If you have a small outdoor space, you might want to create a privacy screen with tall plants. There are plenty of plants that grow well in containers and can be used as a living privacy screen.
Some of the best plants to use for a container privacy screen include bamboo, clumping bamboo, and boxwood. These plants are all relatively fast-growing and can be pruned to create a dense, full look.
7. Container plants for a modern look
If you’re looking for a container plant combo that will make a statement, this is the one for you.
The bold colors and modern textures in this grouping are perfect for a front porch or patio that you want to make sure people notice.
This container garden features:
• Black Mondo Grass
• Purple Heart
• Creeping Jenny
• Spike Dracaena
• Pink Geranium
• White Petunia
• Pink Calibrachoa
8. Container plants for a tropical look
There are many plants that can be grown in containers to create a tropical look. This is because plants that are native to tropical regions are often used to growing in poor soil and can be quite happy in containers with the right care.
Banana plants are a great example of a plant that can be grown in a container to create a tropical look.
They can grow quite large, so they will need to be repotted as they grow. You can also grow them in a large container and prune them to keep them at a manageable size.
Other tropical plants that can be grown in containers include palms, elephant ears, and hibiscus.
The key to creating a tropical look with container plants is to choose a variety of plants with different leaf shapes, sizes, and colors. You can also experiment with different container shapes and sizes to create a lush, tropical display.
9. Container plants for a desert look
You don’t need a large garden to create a desert look. The key is to focus on plants with striking shapes and unusual textures.
The plants in this container are all drought-tolerant, so they can be watered less frequently. The spiky leaves of the yucca contrast beautifully with the trailing greenery of the sedum.
The soft, silvery leaves of the lamb’s ear and the red-tipped grass add color and texture to the container.
10. Container plants for a Mediterranean look
If you love the look of Mediterranean gardens, you can easily get the same look in your garden with a few carefully chosen container plants.
The Mediterranean planting style is all about creating a relaxed, sun-drenched look, and choosing plants that love the sun is key.
You can also use containers to create a tiered look, and use climbers to add height to your display.
Try adding a few evergreen shrubs to your pots to give your display a lush, full look all year round.
You could also try adding a few herbs to your Mediterranean container garden, like thyme and oregano. Not only will they look great, but you’ll be able to use them in your cooking, too.
11. Container plants for a cottage look
Create a cottage garden look with a mix of plants in pots. This informal look is perfect for a patio or balcony and is easy to achieve with a mix of your favorite plants.
Here, we’ve used a beautiful vintage-style container and filled it with a mix of plants that would be at home in a cottage garden.
We’ve used a mix of colors, textures, and heights to create a relaxed look. This pot features a mix of trailing plants, climbers, and upright varieties to create a varied display.
12. Container plants for a contemporary look
If you love the look of a contemporary garden, you can easily recreate the style in your outdoor space with a few carefully selected container plants.
Choose evergreen shrubs and trees with a strong, architectural shape, such as yucca, cordyline, and phormium.
Add in some ornamental grasses, like carex, pennisetum, and festuca, and use them to fill the gaps between your shrubs. You can also use grasses to add height and movement to your container displays.
13. Container plants for an Asian look
If you love the idea of an exotic garden, but you don’t live in a climate that’s compatible with tropical plants, you can still get the look with container plants.
This combination of plants is inspired by the look of a Japanese garden. The variegated foliage of the grass and the fern add lots of texture and interest.
The bright green of the fern, the chartreuse of the Hakone grass, and the deep green of the boxwood are a perfect combo.
The blue green of the hosta adds a pop of color, and the white of the hosta flowers brings some brightness to the mix. The hosta flowers are also edible, so they’ll make a great addition to your garden salads.
14. Container plants for a formal look
If you want to keep things simple and elegant, try container plants with a more formal look. In this design, a pair of topiaries are the stars of the show. They are planted in large, gray urns with a matching plinth to elevate them.
The topiaries are flanked by a pair of understated ferns. The symmetrical design is a great way to create a sense of order and balance in your garden.
15. Container plants for a casual look
If you want to create a casual look with your container plants, use mounding plants like petunias and calibrachoa. These plants will spill over the edges of your containers and create a more relaxed look.
You can also add in taller plants like geraniums and snapdragons to create more visual interest. This look is perfect for a front porch or patio!
16. Container plants for a beachy look
This container garden from The Lily Pad Cottage is all about the beach vibes. The blue and white color scheme is classic and the plants add to the look.
The tall plant with the white flowers is a hydrangea and the plant with the purple flowers is a salvia. Both of these plants are low maintenance and easy to grow in a container.
The silver leaf plant is a dusty miller which is a great plant for adding a pop of silver to your container gardens.
17. Container plants for a farmhouse look
If you like the modern farmhouse look, try planting your containers with a variety of plants that have a cottage-core vibe. Here, a mix of flowers and trailing plants is a perfect example of how different plants can be combined in a single container.
This container includes a mix of white flowers, including white bacopa (Sutera cordata, USDA Zone 9), white petunias (Petunia spp., Zone 10), and white verbena (Verbena spp., Zone 9).
The white flowers are accented by the blue-green foliage of ‘Blue Daze’ evolvulus (Evolvulus glomeratus, Zone 8) and the silvery leaves of licorice vine (Helichrysum petiolare, Zone 10).
18. Container plants for a boho look
If you love the bohemian style, then you’ll love this container garden idea. Boho style is all about patterns, colors, and textures. And this container garden has all three!
The pot on the left has a mix of colors and textures with the silver green of the dusty miller, the dark green of the coleus, and the purple of the petunias.
The pot on the right has a mix of patterns with the stripes of the petunias and the polka dots of the coleus.
Both pots are tied together with the pink petunias and the silver green of the dusty miller. And the yellow lantana in the middle pot adds a pop of color and ties the whole look together.
Conclusion
We hope you’ve been inspired to get to work on your own container garden. If you’re interested in learning more about gardening, you can check out our dedicated gardening section.
