Containment strategy

Container gardening is an easy, creative way to update any outdoor area. You can use containers to add a dramatic focal point to a patio or brighten up a shady patch in the garden. They can be a cheery welcome on your front porch. You can even use them to create secrets. All gardens need secrets, right?

Before you rush off to buy your containers, look for areas around your house that might need more emphasis. It may be your porch, deck, patio or an obscure area in the corner of your garden. “Decide where you want to create a focal point,” said Steve Smith, owner of Sunnyside Nursery in Marysville.

For example, if you have a large patio, using tall containers can create the illusion of rooms or add a dramatic focal point. Small old-styled containers can enhance a rustic garden patio or a weathered brick path. Glazed ceramic pots can brighten up a porch or a spot in your garden.

Containers come in a variety of materials, sizes and prices. Fiberglass pots are lightweight, easy to move, contemporary in design and can be large. Terracotta pots are the most common and you can find them in a zillion shapes and sizes. You can find ceramic pots in contemporary and older-styled designs. Styrofoam pots tend to be traditionally styled and are for the budget-minded. Smith recommends that you choose containers that tie in with the architecture of your house.

Don’t confine yourself to standard pots. Unusual containers can create interest in an outdoor area, too. “Just about anything that will hold some dirt will work,” Smith said. Just make sure you can make drainage holes in the base before planting.

Wondering about that secret? Find an old tin bucket, watering can, wooden barrel or large crock. Then place it in the patio alcove just beyond the view of your back door. Place a plant in it that whispers with the breeze. The mysterious rustling will draw you and your friends into the garden.

Once you have your containers, you can begin to choose your plants. “Container gardening is nothing more than a floral arrangement with roots,” Smith said.

He used an old saying to help remember the basics of flower arrangement: “You need a thriller, filler and spiller.” Choose plants with height or large foliage to create a focal point (thriller). Include trailing plants to add form and interest (spiller). Then fill in with plants to add harmony or contrast (filler). Let your artistic side take over. You can create your own little drama using the plants’ intimate details of texture, form and lines.

Tucked away in a greenhouse at Sunnyside Nursery are Smith’s large, deep red fiberglass containers that were displayed at the Northwest Home and Garden Show. They offer dramatic displays of color harmony, coarse linear lines contrasted with round succulents, and interesting mixes of foliage. Spikes and pinks create drama in a pot planted with Dracaena “Kiwi Dazzler” (thriller) and Sedum “Jelly Beans” (filler). Another deep red pot bursting in bright greens and big foliage puts on a show with Acanthus “Tasmanian Angle” (thriller), Bergenia “Solar Flare” (filler), Euphorbia “Black Bird” (filler/thriller), and Euphorbia myrsinites (spiller).

Holli Schippers, who oversees the perennial and nursery stock at Emery’s Garden in Lynnwood, guides your plant selection with questions about your containers and space. Is it is going to be near a wall or in an open area? Will it sit on a table with lots of sun or be on the ground in shade? Is the container tall with a narrow opening or a wide-brimmed pot? How big is it? All key considerations.

Smith recommends using a high quality soil mix. “A container with plants is an intensively managed little ecosystem,” he said. You need to feed and water on a regular basis.

Anne Checkoway, a Veteran Master Gardener, advises you to choose and care for container plants wisely. “Because they are self-contained, you must provide whatever nutrients the plants require,” she said. Take care not to mix plants that need different types of fertilizer or amounts of light. “You would not want to put an acid-loving plant with an alkaline-loving plant,” she cautioned.

So now it’s time to get started. Your imagination is the only thing that limits you. Fill small pots with your favorite spring bulbs, herbs, lavender and delicate annuals all arranged and grouped to suit the space. Create drama with a single conifer in a large pot or design a tapestry with multiple plantings.

If you are trendy, cluster a group of pots with white hydrangeas for a monochromatic look. Create privacy with a Japanese maple in a large container placed in front of your window. Add year-round foliage to an area by planting an evergreen shrub such as a camellia in a container.

You can never have enough secrets. Add another by placing a group of pots at the end of the cobbled path that disappears around the side of your house. You will find yourself wandering along that path more and more.