14 Ideas for Flowering Container Gardens

Written by
Jamie McIntosh
Jamie has written about gardening and special occasion flowers since 2011. She has years of experience in caring for flowers and plants.
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Jamie McIntosh
Updated 06/22/20
flowers and plants in container garden

bstrupp / Pixabay

"I want less color in my flower garden," said nobody, ever. One of the many benefits of container gardens? They add color. Choose vibrant flowerpots to add to your color scheme. If you don't find the right shade to match your design, painting them with your custom hue makes a fun weekend project.

  • 01 of 13

    Hello, Spring Flowers!

    Spring Bulbs in Terracotta Pots
    Juliette Wade / Photolibrary / Getty Images

    Forcing spring bulbs in terra cotta pots is a no brainer: after all, you must move these pots into a sheltered area like a garage or unheated shed to prevent cracking and breaking from freeze-thaw cycles. Add your soil and bulbs like hyacinths and tulips in the fall before storage, and move outdoors in the spring, when green shoots appear. 

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  • 02 of 13

    Seat With a Garden View

    Adirondack Garden Chair
    Darrell Gulin / Photographer's Choice / Getty Images

    Invest in one afternoon planting some annual transplants and seed packets, and put your feet up in this blooming retreat a few months later. Petunias, geraniums, and zinnias will yield similar results to this flower patch. A chartreuse coleus glows against the periwinkle Adirondack chair.  

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  • 03 of 13

    Don't Forget the Side Yard

    Side Yard Garden
    Ron Evans / Photolibrary / Getty Images

    Is your side yard a neglected passageway through which you occasionally trudge with a wheelbarrow? No more, when you fill it with cheerful tulips, pansies, and forget-me-nots. Switch to low maintenance wax begonias in the summer months, which tolerate the shady conditions many side yards experiences. 

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  • 04 of 13

    When a Bigger Container Is Better

    Large Container Garden
    Mark Turner / Photolibrary / Getty Images

    A modest front yard turns into something magnificent with the addition of oversized pots and urns. Use the money you saved by growing inexpensive blooms like these impatiens and begonias to invest in high quality freeze-proof and rodent-proof containers made of metal or stone. Fiberglass and wood are less durable, but still weather resistant. Ceramic or terracotta pots are safe choices if you live in frost-free areas.

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  • 05 of 13

    Create Order in the Garden

    Tiered Container Garden
    Kim Sayer / Photolibrary / Getty Images

    When you find yourself overwhelmed with a hodgepodge of small flowerpots, arrange them in a tier to coax design out of mayhem. Hundreds of tiny flowers from plants like lobelia, fleabane daisy, or verbena yield a cloud-like effect.

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  • 06 of 13

    Garden Space Savers

    Vertical Garden
    Peter Zelei Images / Moment Open / Getty Images

    Vertical gardening is a hot trend that doesn't show any signs of slowing, especially as the tiny house movement demands the companionship of space-saving landscapes. Inexpensive brackets and plastic window boxes look stylish and modern when arranged on a privacy fence. 

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  • 07 of 13

    Flowering Boots

    Flowering Boots
    Imagesbybarbara / E+ / Getty Images

    The charm of flowering shoe planters will never lose its appeal. Check your thrift store for rain boots, work boots, or cowboy boots that have lost their comfort but not their utility. Don't forget to drill a few drainage holes. 

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  • 08 of 13

    Vines Add Height

    Container Vines
    Peter Anderson / Dorling Kindersley / Getty Images

    A solid recipe for any successful container garden includes a tall plant, a mounding plant, and a trailing plant. Flowering vines can stand in for tall specimens, given a trellis or a tepee of bamboo twigs to cling to. Plant small annual vines that won't grow out of bounds, like 'Minibar Rose' morning glory. 

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  • 09 of 13

    Orchids Head Outdoors

    Orchid Container Garden
    Vinson Motas / EyeEm / Getty Images

    If you've had problems getting your orchids to rebloom, solve the problem by giving them an outdoor vacation. The humidity and bright filtered sunlight might be just what the plant doctor ordered to trigger a new blooming cycle.  

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  • 10 of 13

    Wheelbarrow Planter

    Wheelbarrow Garden
    Stephen Dorey / Photographer's Choice / Getty Images

    Giving new life to an old wheelbarrow by turning it into a flowering container has several benefits: keeping the wheelbarrow out of the landfill, moving the garden to catch the most sun, moving it into shelter avoid early or late frosts, and moving it away from nocturnal pests like deer and rabbits. 

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  • 11 of 13

    Homemade Planter Scarecrow

    Pot Scarecrow
    Manfred Gottschalk / Lonely Planet Images / Getty Images

    It's difficult to find the beauty in a stack of cheap plastic pots, but turning them into a plantable scarecrow is one sure way to extract some life from these big box store staples.  

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  • 12 of 13

    Rustic Garden Containers

    Whisky Barrel Planters
    Lb Driver / Getty Images

    To follow the rustic garden trend, utilize all kinds of wood containers, like these whiskey barrels. Wood crates and shipping pallets are also in demand in the rustic garden. Wood has a shorter life than ceramic or metal containers, but you can extend the life of your wood by employing risers underneath the containers, to speed drying and prevent rot. 

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  • 13 of 13

    Bring Flowers to the Beach

    Beach Container Garden
    Kirkikis / Getty Images

    A container garden may be the only option for thriving flowers in a coastal community where soil may be scarce or non-existent. Choose flowers that tolerate salt spray and wind, like blanket flower, lantana, rugosa rose, or portulaca.