Excerpted from Gardening for Dummies by Michael MacCaskey
Arranging groups of container plants is like hanging pictures or moving furniture. Don’t be afraid to experiment, to move around your plant-filled containers again and again. Remember the most important thing: The results should look good to you.
Consider the different shapes of the plants you’re using—whether they’re in individual containers, mixed plantings, or multiple containers. Think about the shapes of the plants and use shape to complement and contrast with each other.
Plant shapes fall into several categories. For example: Tall, spiky plants include snapdragons, and New Zealand flax. Round, mounded shapes include impatiens and lavender. Trailers include lobelia and ivy.
• Repeating the same colors or plants is a great way to achieve a full look. For example, use yellow marigolds in a cluster of pots near the beginning of a front walk and again on the front porch. Of course, moderation is important. Going overboard on repetition—for instance, a long border of alternating red and white impatiens—can end up looking like a giant candy cane.
• If you are working with a small area, start by using matching types of containers (for example, terra cotta) in different sizes. Make one or two pots a lot larger than the others. If you want, throw in a maverick, like a glazed pot.
• For a big deck or expanse of paving, use lots of pots and mix sizes, styles, and shapes. Group identical pots with identical plants. Nothing looks more smashing in spring than three 14-inch (35.5 cm) terra cotta pots stuffed to the gills with red tulips.
• On a balcony (mild climate permitting), create a privacy screen with containers of bamboo or English laurel.
• Raise some containers higher than others; provide a lift with a couple of bricks underneath or use plant stands. The height adds emphasis and puts the plants at a better viewing level.
• Hang your containers. There’s no easier and quicker way to get favorite plants up to eye level. Use wood, plastic, or moss-lined wire frames. Make sure supports are strong because a plant gains weight as it grows, not to mention the weight after watering. Try hanging baskets of bougainvillea—normally a vine, but a vivid-blooming trailer when grown in a hanging basket. On a blank, shady wall, attach wire half-baskets—at least three, staggered at different heights—filled with blooming begonias and impatiens, plus ferns for greenery.
