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7 Container Gardening Ideas Beyond Summer Flowers
This post is full of container gardening inspiration beyond summer flowers. These photos will help you to get creative and think outside of ordinary plantings.
I love any opportunity to be creative and container gardening is one of them. As we inch towards warmer weather, I am scouring the web for unique container gardening inspiration. My local nursery should be starting to stock their products and I will soon be walking their aisles looking for new and different things.
You don’t always have to plant flowers in your pots. Look at shrubs and perennial plants that you can transplant in the fall into your garden after enjoying them for a season on your porch or patio. Also, pots are not limited to decks and porches; you can place them in your garden for some height
First, Go Shopping in Your Own Garden
When I first toured my home, I fell in love with the large variety of hostas that the previous owner had planted in the yard. I had no idea that you could split them so many times and that they would come back bigger and healthier the next year! The beauty of splitting the hostas is that we have been able to share them with friends and help landscape their gardens.
This year I want to take some of my hostas and plant them in my pots and urns. They will not cost me a dime and won’t require as much watering as flowers.
If you have a problem with deer eating your hostas or other plants, try LaTorre’s Deer Out Repellant. You can only buy it on-line. We have been using it for years. It has a minty scent and is not offensive like many other repellents. It truly works. (This is not a sponsored post; strictly my opinion). My husband buys it in the concentrate form and mixes it with water in his sprayer.
Pair Plants that Compliment Each Other
This planter is stunning! The variegated Caladium gives the planter height and the Maidenhair Fern adds color. It’s the perfect combination and this white urn is a nice contrast against the green plants.
I couldn’t find the name of this taller plant in this photo but it is surrounded by the perennial fern that I have in my yard. The ivy trails out of the pot in the front. The different shades of green complement each other. If you know the name of the taller plant, please share in the comments below.
A Regal Fern
The official name for this gorgeous fern with burnt orange plumes is Osmunda Regalis. I have a half-dozen of these in my yard and was told they were also called Cinnamon Ferns. They are a perennial and come back every year. I love the idea of putting them in the pot where they can spread out as shown above. They appear so Regal! The ones in my yard are planted too close together. I can’t wait to show off one in a pot next to my potted hosta. I like the combination above of the blue-green hosta leaves against the green fern.
Lilly of the Valley
My mother had Lilies of the Valley planted on the side of our house when I was growing up. I loved how dainty they were but I remember they spread like crazy and we had to pull them from spreading into the grass. If you are blessed to have them in your garden, place some in a pot!
Container Gardening with Potted Shrubs
These potted shrubs grouped together are beautiful. They add height and color to the cement patio and create a cozy barrier between the patio and the grass.
Container Gardening with Flowering Shrubs
I love flowering shrubs, especially ones that bloom all summer. Enjoy one such as this flowering hydrangea on your patio and then transplant it in the fall into your garden so that it will bloom next year.
If you would like more inspiration, visit my previous post, Container Gardening Worthy of Pinning where I share photos from gorgeous planters around Easton Town Center in my great city of Columbus.
I hope these container gardening ideas have inspired you for your summer gardening. I know I can’t wait to pull my pots out and start planting! How about you?








