Growing plants in pots can be a challenge, but when successful, they can add depth and interest to a garden. In this article I’ll share some of the ways that I use pots and containers to enhance the design of my garden.
Garden beds are a great way to organize and beautify your outdoor space. But did you know that incorporating pots into your beds can add visual interest and boost your planting flexibility? From small accent pots to large statement planters, pots let you grow a wider variety of plants and create fun combinations.
In this article, we’ll explore creative ways to effectively use pots of all kinds within garden beds. Whether you want to add pops of color, fill gaps, or grow plants with different needs, mixing pots and beds can help you get the most out of your garden.
Highlight Specimen Plants
One of the simplest ways to use pots is to showcase specimen plants – ones with outstanding flowers, foliage form or other features you want to draw attention to. Place a potted specimen plant within a bed or at the end of a bed, to really make it a focal point.
Some great specimen plants for pots include:
- Large tropicals like elephant ears and cannas
- Ornamental grasses and bamboos
- Weeping shrubs or trees
- Large flowering perennials like peonies and dahlias
- Unusual succulents and cacti
Putting these plants in pots enables you to move them around and position as needed for maximum impact Their distinctive shapes and textures stand out against the groundcover of a bed
Add Height and Vertical Interest
Pots are a quick way to inject height into a garden bed, especially ones at the back that lack dimension. Go tall with narrow trees, climbing vines, tall perennials or bamboo. Cluster a few together for real drama.
Try trellising vines on potted obelisks or pillars situated in beds to add vertical interest. Clematis and mandevilla love to climb. Place taller pots behind shorter planting to create a layered look.
Grow Different Environments
An advantage of pots is that you can create a mini environment tailored to a plant’s needs. Use pots to grow sun-lovers in a shady bed or moisture-lovers in a dry bed. Amend the potting mix as needed to adjust pH, drainage or nutrients. Then you’re not limited to what grows best in the native soil.
Succulents, cacti, citrus and herbs are great candidates for pots within beds. Instead of trying to amend a whole bed, give them what they want right in their container.
Add Color Combos
Pots allow fun splashes of color that would look random planted right in a bed. Try combining pots of annuals, perennials, vegetables and herbs for a lively mix. As seasons change, you can swap out pots of cooled-off plants for fresh colors.
Use bold glazed pots or paint terra cotta bright colors to complement the contents. All one color or a medley – anything goes! Match pots to colors in nearby beds to tie the look together.
Fill Gaps and Empty Spaces
Newly planted beds often have unsightly gaps while plants mature and fill in. Plop pots of fast-growing annuals or spreading perennials into those bare spots for an instant finished look. As the bed fills out, move pots to a new gap or remove them if no longer needed.
Pots are also great fillers along edges that curve, have irregular shapes or where beds meet hardscaping. Place a succession of pots along the border rather than trying to dig out precise edges.
Grow More in Less Space
If your beds are stuffed and you’re short on space, pots let you increase planting in the same footprint. Tuck more pots in between established plants and set them along bed edges. Go vertical with stacked or hanging pots to maximize space.
Use compact pots of herbs, ornamental edibles and annuals that can tolerate close quarters. Aim for 1-2 feet between pots and existing plants so neither is impeded.
Rooftop and Balcony Gardens
Those with only rooftops, patios or balconies can still enjoy many benefits of beds by using pots. Construct portable planter boxes to create the look of raised beds without digging. Elevate pots on stands at different heights to mimic tiered beds.
Go big with half wine barrels, galvanized stock tanks or oversized planters. Kits are available that connect modular plastic pots to form beds of various shapes. Get creative!
Extend Seasons
In climates with shorter outdoor growing seasons, use pots to start plants early or extend the season into fall and winter. Begin seeds or transplants in portable pots that can be moved indoors or under cover as needed.
Cold-tolerant pansies, kale, chard and other plants can continue producing well into winter with a bit of protection. Shift pots to sheltered spots or pop mini hoop houses over them to block wind and frost.
Decorative and Themed Beds
For organized garden designs, repetitive use of matching pots looks clean and orderly. Try a row of identical terra cotta or glazed pots down the center or along the edge of a bed. Repeat with trellised pots or spheres.
Themed beds focused on herbs, succulents, edibles or pollinators are the perfect opportunity to use fun, whimsical pots that fit the theme. For instance, use teapots and mugs in an herbal tea garden.
Change Things Up
The best part of using pots in garden beds? Everything is movable and changeable to refresh your display. In permanent beds, it can be backbreaking work to transplant or divide overgrown plants. With pots, simply shift them around into a new configuration or replace them with different plants for an instant change. Experiment and have fun with it!
The key is choosing pots with proportions and colors that complement your beds. Watch for sales to stock up on pots for flexibility. Whatever your style – traditional terra cotta, modern glazed, classic stone urns or sleek metal – pots bring versatility and creativity to beds.
I hope these ideas have inspired you think beyond placing pots only in empty spaces or on hardscaping. Use pots purposefully within beds to highlight, fill gaps, add color, increase plant diversity and more. Mixing pots and planted beds gives you expanded planting options while adding visual punch. Your garden beds will love the added pizzazz!
Alpines, Herbs & Bulbs in Bowls
1 MOSS SAXIFRAGE (Saxifraga x arendsii) — I planted five large plug plants of this red-flowered evergreen alpine in a 40cm bowl two years ago. This spring it produced a wonderful display that easily outlasted the tulips. April.
2 HERB BOWL (Helichrysum italicum and Thymus serpyllum)—The creeping thyme self-seeded into this bowl, but pairs beautifully with the silvery foliage of the curry plant. June.
3 WHITE NERINES — Nerines — AKA Guernsey lilies — are ideal grown in bowls, as they flower best when they become congested. However, they must be overwintered undercover, as a hard frost can turn them to mush. October.
Ways To Use pots
Specimen planters As a stand-alone feature, a beautiful pot can (literally and figuratively) elevate a handsome plant to really show it off. To my eye, the perfect combination of pot and plant enhance both. I think this is evident in the photo above, where two beautiful spherical stone planters carry magnificent clumps of agapanthus. If the pots were empty, or the clumps of agapanthus were planted in the border, neither would be quite as striking. Such specimen planters are ideal used singly as focal points, or in pairs framing a vista, doorway or path.
Collections A quite different use of pots is to display a collection of related plants, which together form an interesting botanical display. Below is one such example in my greenhouse — a collection of small succulents and alpines. Later in this article, I’ll discuss my potted collection of Hostas. For such displays, it is important that the pots work well together — all being the same color or material, for example. Likewise, it is generally preferable to use fairly plain pots that do not shout for attention so that the eye is drawn to the individual plants.
Seasonal displays Another important use of containers is for seasonal displays, typically consisting of brightly coloured winter, spring or summer flowers. A good example of this would be a collection of pots around a front door, which can be changed regularly as the season progresses (see my May doorstep display, below.) When there are several pots together like this, it is often not necessary for every pot to be especially attractive in its own right. Instead, the more expensive, ornamental pots can be placed towards the front, with simpler more economical pots further back. I find black plastic pots are perfect of this situation, as they are cheap and their colour retreats into the shadows, helping the flowers stand out. Seasonal displays can be kept fresh by regularly adding and removing pots as they come into flower and go over.
These white asiatic lilies have produced a reliable display for me for the last four years, increasing substantially from the original five bulbs I planted (June)
A pot of lilies in full flower can be a stunning sight, as you can see in these examples from my garden
Lily bulbs are ideal candidates for growing in pots as they can easily be moved into view when for the few short weeks they are in flower. I start mine off in a cold greenhouse, which reduces problems with slugs and lily beetles. After flowering, I park them in an out-of-the-way spot to die down naturally.
Asiatic lilies are generally the easiest to grow, with upward pointing large star-shaped trumpets, although they are unscented. Oriental lilies (including Roselilies) are the next most reliable category in my experience. These have recurved petals and generally hang downwards like turks-caps. Many are highly perfumed. I have also had success with Trumpet lilies — Lilium regale, and its hybrids.
▷ Roselilies are a double-flowered breed, which lack stamens. Most are scented. (July)
PLANTING LILY BULBS Use a large, deep pot. The one here is frost-proof terracotta, 30cm tall, 40cm wide at the brim. This is suitable for five to seven large bulbs. Use a loam-based compost such as John Innes No 3, and add additional sharp grit to improve drainage and deter slugs. Many lilies are stem-rooting, so benefit from being buried deep, with a good 15cm (6in) of soil above them.
CARE Lilies need consistent moisture in the growing season but resent being waterlogged, especially in the winter and early spring. Feed them with a high-potash fertiliser (e.g. tomato feed) in spring and early summer to aid flowering. After flowering, remove seed pods, but let the stems and leaves die down naturally so that energy can be directed into the bulbs for next year.
1 Lilium ‘Miss Feya’ — A huge oriental lily. ‘Miss Feya’ is a variety of tree lily. These cultivars grow to 1.5m (5ft) or taller, and bear dozens of huge, 18cm (7″), pendulous flowers with recurved petals which have a powerful perfume. Their stems are strong, but I stake them to stop them spreading too wide. Deep pink, late July.
2 Lilium regale hybrid— I do not know the variety of this trumpet lily, but it clearly has L. regale in its parentage, having creamy yellow centred flowers with salmon-pink backs. It has performed reliably for me for years. I grow it behind other potted perennials to hide its simple black plastic pot. Cream, early July.
3 Lilium ‘Inuvik’ — A compact, dwarf asiatic lily growing to 45cm (18″), with big, pure white flowers. I’m trying them for the first time this year, and so far they have impressed me. Stems are sturdy and upright; foliage dense and dark green… Nice! I may promote them to long-term terracotta pots. White, June.
Hostas are another perennial that can be grown very successfully in pots. If you have ever tried them in the garden border you will know how difficult it is to keep them free of slug damage. In pots, you stand a fighting chance.
My containerised Hosta display (above) includes several small-growing Hostas, to the front, which are planted in ornamental glazed pots. For the larger Hostas, behind, I use more economic black plastic pots, as they are barely visible. Growing miniature Hostas in pots is beneficial, as it is much easier to keep an eye on them and move the pots if they start to become swamped by larger plants.
Hostas thrive in shade, so I have sited my display in a shady corner, visible from the kitchen door. By selecting Hosta varieties with different leaf colour, size and texture, an interesting foliage display is easy to maintain for the whole growing season.
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FAQ
Can you put pots in a garden bed?
I often use pots to add height or color to a garden bed where these elements are missing. In one garden, I placed a pot of annuals in a border when a shot of color was needed.
How do you display pots in a garden?
Your garden pots don’t need to keep their feet on the ground. Try raising a few of them up on pot feet or place them on upturned pots or plinths to add height. If you have a garden wall or steps, group pots at different levels to create a unique display. Remember, too, that plant stands are not just for houseplants.
What vegetables grow best together in pots?
- Beans, carrots, and squash.
- Tomatoes, basil, and onions.
- Lettuces with practically any combination of herbs.
- Spinach, chard, and onions.
- Eggplant and any type of pole or bush beans.
How to incorporate pots into landscape?
Arranging flower pots in your front yard involves creating a balanced and visually appealing layout. Start by placing larger pots as focal points and fill in the spaces with smaller pots. Experiment with varying heights, colors, and textures to achieve an eye-catching arrangement.
Where can I buy a planter raised bed?
Amazon.com: Planter Raised Beds – Planter Raised Beds / Gardening Pots, Planters & Accessori: Patio, Lawn & Garden Check each product page for other buying options. Land Guard Galvanized Raised Garden Bed Kit, Galvanized Planter Garden Boxes Outdoor, Oval Large Metal for Vegetables…………
How to build a pot in pot garden?
A pot in pot garden is a simple idea and one that is easy to construct. Essentially, you bury containers in the ground and insert other containers with plants in them. To construct a bed like this, start by choosing the container sizes you’ll use. Dig holes in the bed in the desired arrangements and put the containers into the holes.
Should you plant pots in pots?
While traditionally the beds gardeners create are designed to be semi-permanent, planting pots in pots allows you to develop more changeable beds. You can change out plants throughout the year and try different plants from one year to the next much more easily when it only requires lifting out a pot and putting in a new one.
What is a raised bed planter box?
Though they’re designed to already sit off the ground, raised planter boxes with legs elevate the gardens even higher to minimize bending while tending to your plants. With a raised bed planter box, make your gardening dreams come true in any yard.
How do you put potted plants in a bed?
Dig holes in the bed in the desired arrangements and put the containers into the holes. They should be in the ground all the way up to the lip. With the empty containers in the ground situate the containers with plants inside them. The potted plants should be a little bit smaller than the empty containers so that they fit snuggly inside.
Where can I buy a raised garden bed?
At Lowe’s, you can buy raised garden beds, including raised wood garden beds and raised metal garden beds, or find the materials you need to build a do-it-yourself raised garden bed. We can even help you with how to build a raised planter box, so you can easily tackle a DIY raised planter box and start growing your garden today.