My Summer Containers for Sun: Meh.
The good news is that I continue to gain useful experience on how to put together summer containers for sun. The not-so -good news is that this year’s containers are pretty unsatisfying.
One lesson from last year that I tried to remember in 2015 is that when you have a whole bunch of containers, not every one of them needs a tall, attention-grabbing plant (the thriller of the thriller-filler-spiller formula).
There are about a dozen containers lined up on the walk to the front door. Initially I put some tallish ‘Evolution’ Mealycup Sage (Salvia farinacea) in a couple of containers at the top of the steps on the right, then one Cigar Plant (Cuphea ignea) on the left.
The other plants I used were mounding (with one exception): Sweet Alyssum (Lobularia maritima), Pentas ‘Butterfly Red’ (Pentas lanceolata), and French Marigold ‘Disco Red’ (Tagetes patula).
The one exception was a compact Nasturtium, ‘Empress of India’ (Tropaeolum majus), which I think of as having more of a weeping habit.
So it turns out that a row of mounding plants in containers does not always make much of a visual impact, so I added two ‘Perfume Deep Purple’ Flowering Tobacco (Nicotania x sanderae). At first I was really pleased with the results, but this plant just would not keep blooming once the weather turned really hot. Next year I will go with more annual Salvia, but something taller than ‘Evolution’ – maybe ‘Mystic Spires’.
I’m fairly happy with the ‘Disco Red’ Marigolds, though they were a little slow to fill in and bloom vigorously. They have single flowers, opening red and fading to orange.
It’s odd that many “serious” gardeners avoid Marigolds. They are too easy, too common, too much associated with free little seed packets given to children. I think this attitude is silly.
I do wonder, though, about the cultivar name ‘Disco Red’. Was it inspired by some ginger-haired dancing queen? Or by some revolutionary agitator with a weakness for the BeeGees? We may never know.
Also, why are the tall Marigolds called African Marigolds (Tagetes erecta) and the short ones French Marigolds? They all come from Mexico, not France or Africa. Another mystery.
The results with the ‘Empress of India’ Nasturtiums were very uneven. The ones in pots at the top of the steps, partly shaded by the house, grew nice and full and flowered adequately. Those in pots in full sun along the walk sulked. I would have expected the opposite.
The Sweet Alyssum, though, have really been outstanding this year. No matter what the weather, they refuse to stop flowering and perfuming the air. It was the Sweet Alyssum in shade, and not in sun, that had to take a breather and was in need of a shearing – the opposite of what I would expect.
The Cigar Plant in the pot on the stump in the Lamppost Bed has done pretty well, though it’s companions may need more regular watering than I’ve been giving them.
Are you happy with your containers in sun this year?
gardeninacity 
My containers are okay – nothing to take photos of, and they seem to need water twice a day which gets kind of old. One pot I’ve redone three times and I still don’t like it. So, I’ll just look at yours and smile. 🙂
I don’t know why these sun containers are such a challenge.
Clearly you need an agave or two.
That’s so crazy it just might work.
My flower pots are dreadful! I always do a terrible job of mixing and matching the plants and this year it rained so much that the water drowned several plants. Wish I knew how to do this effectively.
We’re all still learning.
Your pots are all looking healthy and colorful, which is 1/2 the ‘battle’. I used nasturtiums in my kitchen window box and they look like crap! Yours look great.
I tried a couple of new things this year. One was to use perennial grasses as a center; the plan is to move them into the garden beds end of season. They are doing well and I like the look. The other thing I tried was using houseplants like crotons, ivy, and a couple other things I bought on the $1 rack (in good condition) at a big box store. I’m liking the results. And, for the 2nd year, I’ve done a big shallow pot full of succulents/sedums and the like. They grow like crazy and don’t need much attention.
Some interesting ideas there. Some of my nasturtiums look like crap, I just didn’t post pictures of those.
We fill our containers with with herbs: one devoted to catnip; another full of parsley, basil, lemon thyme; a third one with sage, English thyme, tarragon, and rosemary. They are in full sun, get water when I remember, and tall until we snip some for cooking. Planted in the ground neighbors are zinnias, a glorious citronella, marigolds, lavender, and dianthus. The pots are pots lead to the steps and a picnic basket of annuals. I like to think they are a warm greeting to those who enter our home.
I like growing fresh herbs, though I do so in the ground – except for mint. Incidentally, not sure if you have your own blog – but if so your link is not working.
Containers are so useful and portable, I love your nasturtiums, some people despise them but I think they are an ideal plant for summer colour as long as black fly is avoided.
We don’t have trouble with black fly on the nasturtiums, I’m glad to say. But why would anyone despise this lovely flower?
I think you are doing a commendable job with your containers and it’s great that you continue to experiment with new and unusual plant combinations. Even with the “thriller, filler, spiller” formula, I generally suck at mixed containers and have opted for smaller containers featuring one plant, well-grown. I can group the containers as I wish. Works for me…
Perhaps that is the way to go, especially with grouped containers.
Your containers look lush and cheerful, which is great. I love those marigolds and nasturtiums. I mostly have red geraniums, some grasses and rudbeckias. Simple but cheery.
Simple but cheery definitely works for me. I should think about some R. hirta for containers next year.
Just discovered your blog via your recent comment on Danger Garden. Your garden is spectacular. I live in Madison, WI so am always interested to see what folks in the Upper Midwest are doing. My green is less colorful and more green at this season with very little grass. Very few containers; typically a single perennial per pot. Daylilies also almost over except for Steeple Jackie, very late, very tall but small flowered yellow one. Looking forward to reading lots of posts on your lovely website.
Judy and I lived in Madison for a couple of years, we remember it fondly. Thanks so much for visiting Garden in a City!
I don’t do annual pots, I love seeing them but they need so much water I have decided to stick to permanent plants and not many of those.
Have you thought of using succulents?
Yes I do have a collection of pots with succulents, I showed them in one of my GBFD posts.
Love that ‘Evolution’–so dramatic! Do any pollinators visit it? I find that the blue flowers in my garden (mostly salvia species) really attract bees and butterflies. I think your collection is quite nice.
Yes, the bees seem very fond of ‘Evolution’.
Happy? Yes. Every year I have new containers mixing both perennial (stuff I dig out over winter and put into containers like hosta, hydrangea and phlox) and annual plants that I purchase new. I do get many different combinations, but still have the the standard full-look of typical annuals too. It is good to experiment like you have done. I plant for pollinators and for ease of care. It looks like you may have done that too. As for a comment above, it is not true by any stretch that a good variety of annuals need more water. All the ones from Mexico, S. America and Africa (like your Marigolds) are the most drought tolerant blooms in the garden, even more so than my native plants. Of course if annuals (and the perennials too) are in a container, they need daily watering, but in the garden they do well baked in the sun.
In the garden my annuals are either bg show stoppers, like the Tithonia, or fillers like the low growing zinnias. I do like to experiment. Every year I try to find at least one new plant or plant combination for containers that I like.
I think your summer pots look great! I do agree about the marigolds too, a lovely little plant….my poor pots are in serious trouble due to a lack of watering….smacks hand!xxx
That is a problem with pots in sun when the weather gets hot … definitely a challenge to keep up with the watering.
Your summer pots look good to me. This is the time of year for a little tangly exuberance! Marigolds are fun and cheerful; I’ve been known to grow a few myself. Slugs love them too.
I never have a problem with exuberance, it’s more the lack of definition with a number of the pots.
I like the look of your summer pots – I always struggle to keep up with the watering of pot pants, so everything then ends up as a pot in which to strike cuttings! I’m with you on marigolds – they are an easy plant and a great companion plant for so many other things (as they encourage so many beneficial insects which feed on other pests in the garden)
I’m with you on the watering, something I should head outside to take care of right now.
I think your pots look fine. I’ve always heard that nasturtiums preferred a little afternoon shade.
I had never heard that about nasturtiums, but it’s consistent with my experience.
I love most of my containers so much this year I’m planning on using the same combinations next year. I have my tithonia in a giant pot and it’s a massive water hog. But that’s the only spot available so I just water it daily. Variegated pennisetum ‘Fireworks’ would be great in a pot by the driveway. Gomphrena would be cool, too.
I’ve tried Gomphrena, but it has not grown well for me.
Um. I wish my containers looked like yours do. haha. I don’t have sun so I can’t report on that aspect. I do have one nice container in the shade that I am happy with. It is a yellow abutilon with Pachystachys lutea. The abutilon bloomed for the early part of summer and stopped just in time for the shrimp plant to take over. They are both perennials (sort of. not exactly frost hardy) so if all goes well I won’t have to replace that container next year. After many years of trying, the thriller spiller thing and I have decided to go our separate ways.
I’m beginning to wonder if thriller spiller might be less than it’s been cracked up to be.
No actually mine were meh too with the crazy weather we have been having.
Unusual weather is always a greater challenge with containers.
Hi Jason and Judy! It was so nice to meet you 🙂 Your containers look much better than mine, Jason –I had one large one that is a success, but my nasturtiums got quite leggy and while they continue to produce a flower or two, the foliage just keep curling up and dying. Maybe I’ll try nasturtium in a pot with more shade next summer.
It was great to meet you as well, Cassi. I had mixed results with my Nasturtiums, though a few came out well. When they look good, they look really good!
My cluster of pots out front was gratifying last year (its first) but this year, not so much. Beginner’s luck? A smaller cluster outside my studio is looking pretty good and the Brugmansias are about to bloom. Others’ Brugs have been blooming for ages. I hear they are heavy feeders, so I may need to up the fish fertilizer applications. Love the orange Zinnias around the stump pot.
Those ‘Orange Profusion’ Zinnias are great. Takes hot sun and dry soil, blooms like crazy.
I think you’re too hard on yourself, Jason. The pots look great! I know it’s hard to see when you look at them every day with a critical eye (I do the same thing), but they’re beautiful. I like the way you’ve lined the sides of the steps with them. The arrangements look very professional.
Thanks!
I also think the pots look much better than you’re giving them credit for. The bright colors are great and I think they have to be in order to stand up to the flower-power of the clematis. Maybe a few stronger uprights would break things up a bit but I think you’re doing alright with that.
I have to say I don’t much like sweet alyssum, so when I say dropping that from next years containers…. well you can take that suggestion with a grain of salt.
My planters are looking nice this year, I’m surprised!
Couldn’t live without sweet alyssum, for the fragrance alone. I’m thinking of trying out Angelonia next year.
Your containers look so much better than mine, Jason! This is the time of year when I really pay attention to what is doing well and can take the heat and the humidity. I love heliotrope, but I might as well cross it off my list, because once again, it shriveled up and died by the end of July. I’m one of those who ignores marigolds, other than in the vegetable garden. Yours look so good, I need to re-think my ideas about them next year. Besides, who wouldn’t want a Disco queen in her garden?:)
Heliotrope has not done well for me either, though I was impressed by how it was growing at the Klehm Arboretum.
Your pots don’t look so bad to me Jason. I can understand that you might not have the look your were going for. Maybe you should try one type of flower in each pot and group them as fill, spill and thrill. That way each plant will have plenty of growing room and will hold up through the entire growing year. I love marigolds. They take heat, humidity, lack of moisture and still sit there looking prissy until Jack Frost does a number on them a couple of times. In my pots I have not had luck with petunias Super or not. I have a few begonias that do well in pots. Maybe I will do a post about my pots. Several I have had tropical ferns or succulents. Several have small shrubs. Fairies have taken up summer residence in several. Nothing to really write home about but they please me.
I may try the idea of just 1-2 types of plants per pot.
I’ve never been very good at containers. Even when they look good at the beginning of summer, they tend to be pretty bedraggled by this point in the season. Last week, I went to a talk by Fergus Garrett and was fascinated by his description of the way they use containers in the courtyard at Great Dixter — as a way to experiment with new and different combinations of plants. Gives me something to think about when I plan containers for next year.
I liked the containers at Great Dixter, especially how they were massed. Now that you mention it, I may go back and look at the pictures from there to see if I get any ideas.