Summer Showcase — Pots that Sizzle

(continued from page 36) watering containers, especially for people that don’t have irrigation systems and with the temperatures the way they’ve been this year and it’s been so dry—the push for selfwatering containers is great,” Voyles said. “The homeowner can look at the planter and determine whether it needs watering.”

“Some clients want all white so we do some monochromatic in white, pink, blue, or purple,” Hoxie said. “That has been more trendy lately. We’re using the same color but different flower textures, different shades of the color, light to dark blue for example, and they play well.”

Sometimes it’s simply the old standbys that are trendy. Jennifer Brennan of Chalet in Wilmette sees plenty of high-end planters and unusual plants in her work. But she recently spotted window boxes at the local Brown’s Chicken’s patio that were filled with red geraniums, and violet-blue and white petunias. “They were surprisingly nice — you can’t beat the basics.”