Container Gardening

Outdoor Container Ideas for Season Long Color

By Nina Koziol

This week’s featured article provides outdoor container ideas for season long color. Outdoor containers can be very satisfying additions to the garden, patio or deck because with a bit of planning they can be made to provide splashes of color from early spring to late fall.

At our house, pots and window boxes filled with colorful pansies, lobelia and daffodils brightened our cool spring for several weeks. But rather suddenly, in the Chicago area where I live, it’s finally become downright hot! Now, I’m looking to give my containers a make-over with heat-tolerant annuals and a few houseplants. Although some gardeners specifically plant their pots for a summer display only, I prefer to keep my containers looking great as each season changes by switching out the plants.

Just about anything can serve as a container for plants as long as it has drainage holes in the bottom. After drilling a few holes in a deep wheel barrow and filling it with potting mix, I packed it with all sorts of plants — from cool season lettuce and spinach in spring to ornamental grasses, coleus, dill and annual milkweed in summer. In the fall, the grasses are blooming so I switch out the other plants with ornamental peppers and tiny pumpkins.

Wheelbarrow Repurposed as a Container photo by Nina Koziol

No matter what you use as a container, a soil-less potting mix is a good choice — it’s lightweight and drains quickly. Don’t rely on bags of heavy top soil to fill plant pots. Instead, find out how to choose the right mix for your pots.

Related Featured Articles

Everything You Need to Know About Potting Mix
By Nina Koziol
Read article

Related Videos

Make Colorful Container Gardens for Summer
Make Colorful Container Gardens for Summer
Runtime: 8m 23
Watch Video
Garden Design: Canna, Spiky Cordyline, Calibrachoa
Garden Design: Canna, Spiky Cordyline, Calibrachoa
Runtime: 2:48
Watch Video

Related Blogs

When good container plants go bad
By Abbi Hayes
Read this post
Swiss Chard in Containers
By Abbi Hayes
Read this post

Here’s more information about gardening that you’re going to want

Membership has its perks!

Become a PlantersPlace member! Registered users can ask Marianne Binetti questions, create personal photo gallery and post product reviews.