Personalizing home spaces has gotten people thinking out of the four walls of their homes. Today’s outdoor spaces function as natural extensions of a home’s interior. Whether your home style is traditional or vintage, contemporary or nouveau modern, you can find the perfect container plantings to fit your home’s personality.
We often associate annuals with container plantings, but many perennials can work well in containers. Potted plants at the entryways of your house are ideal for infusing your home’s exterior with personality. Think about intermixing annuals and perennials so that you can change the look of the containers from year to year.
If you thought succulents were only for garden beds, think again. A new trend involves incorporating hardy and tender succulents with diverse colors and textures in container plantings. Look for low-growing, drought-tolerant specimens such as echeveria and sedums. Once planted, succulents require only a modicum amount of care on your part. You can leave them for a weekend away from home, and when you get back, they will still look great.
If you’re placing your container planting in a sunny spot in your yard, go for a tropical plant to add height and visual interest.
Container plantings don’t have to be ornamental only. You can make them edible by incorporating vegetables into the container designs. Position these planters closer to a kitchen, patio or porch door for easy harvesting access.
When styling your outdoor spaces, pick a theme and stick to it. Turn to your home’s interior for inspiration. What colors do you use indoors? Try to incorporate coordinating colors outdoors to achieve visual cohesiveness from the outside to the inside of your home.
For showstopping curb appeal, consider your home’s exterior when selecting plants. For example, use greens and bright colors to offset dark brickwork. Yellows remain popular, as do silver and gray tones.
Offset brown stone and beige siding with accent colors such as pink, purple, green and red. Variegated and green foliage can enliven white home exteriors while adding visual interest and texture that can complement any container plantings you create.
Nouveau Modern
Simple, clean lines and crisp white or bright-colored furnishings define this new-modern decorating style.
Sun-Loving Combo Suggestion:
Petunia hybrid Supertunia
Pineapple Sage (Rockin’ Golden Delicious)
Wow with Superbena Whiteout Verbena
Container Size: 16 inches
Pot for a Shady Spot:
Sweet Potato Vine (Ipomoea batatas) ‘Proven Accents Sweet Caroline
Sweetheart Jet Black’
Wishbone Flower (Torenia hybrid)
‘Catalina Midnight Blue’
Coleus (Plectranthus scutellarioides)
‘ColorBlaze Velveteen’
Container Size: 12 inches
Traditional
Your style is eternal and timeless and features design elements and furnishings that include brick, slate or wicker.
Sun-Loving Combo Suggestion:
Petunia hybrid Supertunia White
Calibrachoa hybrid ‘Superbells’ Red
Container Size: 12 inches
Pot for a Shady Spot:
Sweet Potato Vine (Ipomoea batatas) ‘Proven Accents Blackie’
Creeping Jenny (Lysimachia nummularia) ‘Goldilocks’
New Guinea Impatiens
(Impatiens hawkeri) ‘Infinity Pink Frost’
Wishbone Flower (Torenia hybrid)
‘Summer Wave’ Large Violet
Vinca (Vinca minor) ‘Illumination’
Container Size: 16 inches
Vintage
Your love for antique treasures permeates your decorating ethos.
Sun-Loving Combo Suggestion:
Calibrachoa hybrid ‘Superbells Over Easy’
Nemesia hybrid ‘Sunsatia Blood Orange’
English marigold (Calendula hybrid) ‘Lady Godiva’ Orange
Container Size: 12 inches
Pot for a Shady Spot:
Euphorbia hybrid ‘Diamond Frost’
Double Impatiens (Impatiens walleriana) ‘Rockapulco Coral Reef’
Container Size: 14 inches
Industrial
You favor concrete and metal in your décor. Pallet planters and cement planters can reiterate this theme.
Sun-Loving Combo Suggestion:
Soft Rush (Juncus inflexus) ‘Graceful Grasses Blue Mohawk’
Nemesia hybrid ‘Sunsatia’ Lemon
Phlox drummondii ‘Intensia’ Blueberry
Pot for a Shady Spot:
Shade Caladium (Caladium hortulanum) ‘Heart to Heart Va Va Violet’
Polka Dot Plant (Hypoestes phyllostachya) ‘Hippo Rose’
Euphorbia hybrid ‘Diamond Snow’
Container Size: 12 inches
Eclectic
Your free spirit of design influences this style.
Sun-Loving Combo Suggestion:
Lantana camara ‘Luscious Berry Blend’
Coleus (Plectranthus scutellarioides)
‘ColorBlaze Sedona Sunset’
Coleus (Plectranthus scutellarioides)
‘ColorBlaze Royale Cherry Brandy’
Container Size: 12 inches
Pot for a Shady Spot:
Hosta hybrid ‘Shadowland Wheee!’
Foamy Bells (Heucherella hybrid) ‘Fun and Games Eye Spy’
Foamy Bells (Heucherella hybrid) ‘Fun and Games Red Rover’
Container Size: 14 inches
All photography courtesy Proven Winners
