A Recipe for the Perfect Spring Patio Container

Story by Angela Koop

In gardening a recipe takes on a whole new meaning. e perfect recipe for container arrangement always include 3 ingredients spiller, ller, and thriller.

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Spiller – a plant that will spill over the side of the container draping down to cover the container. A couple popular annual spillers are Potato Vine, Bacopa and Lobelia. If you are looking to change things up for your spillers you could use trailing verbena or trailing snap dragon.

Filler – a plant that grows as wide as it does tall, these plants are used to make your plant look whole and full. Petunias and Geraniums are a great filler plants. Coleus is also a wonderful filler providing colour riller- Your Show stopper, the tallest growing plant in the container. Some popular thrillers are Purple fountain grass, canna lily, cordyline and dracaena.

Feeling overwhelmed trying to plan your containers? ink about the colour pallet you prefer, cool colours (blues and purples) or warm colours (pinks, reds, bright greens)? Once you have narrowed that down think about the number of planters you are wanting to create. Repeating the exact same pattern is not necessary for all containers. If you keep your colour pallet consistent through your outdoor space it will naturally create a uniform look throughout. e other nice thing about having a set colour pallet is that it can be easier to incorporate substitute plants into your arrangements when you might not be able to nd the exact plant.

Feeding your planters properly helps keep them happier longer along with deadheading. Deadheading is the practice of removing blooms that

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are no longer looking good. Feeding your container changes as the season does. When initially planting using a mycorrhizae in the soil to aid in root development can help your plants grow faster. For the beginning of the growing season use a slow released fertilizer on the surface of your planter to slowly feed your baskets as they are lling in. Once your planter has reached its maximum growth (Late June – July) it is good idea switch to a liquid fertilizer as nutritional needs for your plants need to be address quickly.

Need more patio time and less plant maintenance? A fun trend that has been happening is foliage planters, taking away a lot of the deadheading maintenance by creating containers that have no blooms just an assortment of coloured foliage.

Another way to make your containers low maintenance is to install drip irrigation to them. is can be done very cleaning by running a drip line through your containers before lling your pots with soil. I recommend do this for all containers even if you are not currently set up for drip.

Have fun this spring creating your master pieces for your patios, your local garden centres are always here and ready to help with completing your vision. If you follow the recipe above, you will have beautiful planters to enjoy through the spring and summer months.