Best of the GPOD: Creative Containers

We’re looking back again today at some of the best GPOD posts from the past, and today the theme is containers! There is so much room to be creative and playful with containers, and they can transform the smallest space—even an apartment balcony—into a beautiful garden.

Fine Gardening once held a virtual container-design contest, and this was one of the winners, created by Paula Klaas. Shading from hot reds and yellows at the bottom, and shifting to pink and dark purple foliage at the top, this container manages to expertly combine the whole rainbow in a pot! You can see more of Paula’s garden here: Paula’s Garden.

Another container contest winner, Dean Hildreth, made this beautiful container, proving that great container design isn’t for sun only. Beautiful ferns dominate, with pops of color from shade-tolerant annuals such as impatiens (Impatiens hawkeri, Zones 10–11 or as an annual). His whole garden is worth seeing as well: Beyond the Container: Dean Hildreth.

Ken and Paulette Fortune made this beautiful container, a fountain repurposed and filled with succulents. Just amazing! And check out their garden; it is pretty amazing too: Beyond the Container: Ken and Paulette.

This container by Tim Vojt proves that sometimes less is more. Just two plants—Japanese painted fern (Athyrium niponicum var. pictum, Zones 5–9) and Heuchera ‘Glitter’ (Zones 4–9)—work together perfectly. The bright container and the calm, green background really make this creation perfect. Heucheras are fantastic container subjects, especially for shade, and Tim is a big fan of them: Coral Bells and Hybrids.

Containers don’t have to be traditional pots! This cow skull planted with tillandsia (air plants) is part of a post full of unusual and creative containers Jeff put together (You Just Can’t Contain Jeff). They’re all amazing!

Wondering why this lush garden is in the container post? Well, this incredible space created by Scott Dunlap in Buffalo, New York, is a driveway. Every single plant you see in this photo is growing in a container! The whole garden is incredible (see more here: Colorblind Plant Combinations) and proof you can make a garden anywhere with a few pots.

Have a garden you’d like to share?

Have photos to share? We’d love to see your garden, a particular collection of plants you love, or a wonderful garden you had the chance to visit!

To submit, send 5-10 photos to [email protected] along with some information about the plants in the pictures and where you took the photos. We’d love to hear where you are located, how long you’ve been gardening, successes you are proud of, failures you learned from, hopes for the future, favorite plants, or funny stories from your garden.

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