I love container gardening. It’s the “contained” concept that really appeals to me as big blank slates can spook me when I’m lacking time and inspiration. A container, even a large one, has much more the feel of a floral arrangement than a garden design. I tend to “plug ‘n play” with mine, gathering lots of plant material into a pile and then plunking this in, taking that out, and generally messing about until I get something that strikes my fancy. Of course, the general rule of “thriller, filler, spiller” (something tall, something medium, something short and vining) applies across the board.
It seems like I just put in my spring container planting and now here it is already time for my summer design. It’s all for the best, however, as the spring plants weren’t happy campers out there, standing guard at the intersect of my garden’s paths. The fluctuation between buckets of rain and dog-day heat in April and May just didn’t do them any favors. This new design took shape in the darkening dusk late last Wednesday evening, and I actually didn’t quite know what it looked like until the next morning. I have to say that I love it! The smoky sultry colors are very dramatic, don’t you think? And as it fills out over the summer, it’ll become even more lush and romantic.
Plants in this design are: Iresine lindenii, Pennisetum ‘Jester’, Coleus ‘Burgundy Sun’, Lysimachia nummularia, Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Buttons ‘n Bows’.
