Creating container gardens can instantly brighten your outdoor space and add color throughout the year. You don’t need a large garden to enjoy a variety of plants that thrive in pots.
The key to successful container gardening is choosing plant combinations that look great and stay healthy across all seasons. This article will help you find inspiring ideas to keep your containers vibrant no matter the time of year.
Purple Fountain Grass, Coral Bells, and White Alyssum
You can create a beautiful container with Purple Fountain Grass for height and movement. Its soft, flowing leaves add texture and a touch of drama without overwhelming the space.
Pair it with Coral Bells for vibrant foliage colors that range from deep reds to purples. They bring rich contrast and work well in partial shade.
Finish with White Alyssum for small, delicate flowers that soften the arrangement and attract pollinators. This combo stays attractive from spring through fall with minimal care.
Frosted Curls Sedge with Seasonal Pumpkins
You can create a charming fall container by pairing Frosted Curls sedge with seasonal pumpkins. The sedge’s silvery-green, curly leaves add texture and softness.
The pumpkins bring warm color and a festive touch. This combo works well from any angle, making it perfect for your porch or patio.
It’s low-maintenance, letting you enjoy autumn’s beauty without much effort.
Silver Dusty Miller, Pink Geraniums, and Blue Lobelia
You’ll love how silver Dusty Miller adds a soft, silvery contrast to your containers. Its unique foliage pairs beautifully with bright pink geraniums, creating a cheerful mix.
Blue lobelia adds a cool pop of color and trails gracefully over the edges. This combo balances bold and subtle tones for a fresh, pretty look all season.
Athyrium Filix-femina Fern with Bright Marigolds
You can create a lovely contrast by pairing the delicate, lacy fronds of Athyrium filix-femina with vibrant marigolds. The fern’s soft green color balances the bold oranges and yellows of the marigolds beautifully.
This combo works well in containers because both plants have different textures and heights, adding visual interest. Plus, marigolds are low-maintenance and bring a cheerful pop to your shaded or partly sunny spots.
Fiddle Leaf Fern, Orange Calibrachoa, and Creeping Jenny
You’ll enjoy the bold texture of the fiddle leaf fern as your container’s structural focal point. Its large, glossy leaves contrast nicely with the bright orange calibrachoa, which adds cheerful pops of color.
Creeping Jenny works well as a trailing accent, softening the edges and spilling over the pot. Together, these plants create a lively combo that stays visually appealing through most seasons. Just make sure your container has good drainage to keep them healthy.
Deep Purple Heuchera with Lime Green Ornamental Cabbage
You can create a striking contrast by pairing deep purple Heuchera with lime green ornamental cabbage. The rich color of Heuchera’s foliage makes the bright cabbage pop in any container.
This combination works well in part shade, adding texture and color to your patio or garden space. Both plants are hardy and low-maintenance, making them perfect for long-lasting displays.
Variegated Spider Plant, Red Begonias, and Sweet Potato Vine
You can create a vibrant container combo using variegated spider plants, red begonias, and sweet potato vines. The spider plant’s striped leaves add a fresh, light touch that contrasts nicely with deep red begonias.
Sweet potato vines trail gracefully over edges, bringing movement and softness to your arrangement. This mix works well in both sun and partial shade, making it easy to grow in many spots around your home.
Dwarf Alberta Spruce, White Pansies, and Red Cyclamen
You can create a striking container by pairing a Dwarf Alberta Spruce with white pansies and red cyclamen. The evergreen spruce adds year-round structure and a rich green color.
White pansies bring brightness and contrast, while red cyclamen add a festive pop. This combo works well in cool weather, making it perfect for fall through winter displays.
Place it in a spot with good sunlight and water it moderately to keep everything healthy. Your container will look inviting all season long.
Yellow Coreopsis with Blue Salvia and Silver Artemisia
You can create a vibrant container by pairing yellow Coreopsis with blue Salvia. Their colors complement each other well, adding brightness and contrast to your space.
Adding silver Artemisia introduces a soft, textured element that balances the bold hues. It also brings a cool, calming touch to the arrangement.
This combination thrives in full sun and requires moderate watering. It’s perfect for adding seasonal interest that lasts throughout the summer.
Trailing Ivy with Lavender and Yellow Petunias
You can create a lively container by pairing trailing ivy with lavender and yellow petunias. The ivy adds graceful greenery that spills over the edges, softening the look.
Lavender petunias bring calm, cool tones, while yellow ones brighten the arrangement with cheerful color. This combo works well in sunny spots where petunias thrive.
It’s easy to maintain and gives your container a balanced mix of texture and color all season long.
Sweet Alyssum, Lavender, and Dark Purple Petunias
You can create a lovely container by pairing sweet alyssum, lavender, and dark purple petunias. The soft white blooms of alyssum contrast nicely with the deep purple petunias.
Lavender adds height and a calming scent to your arrangement. Sweet alyssum prefers cooler weather and regular watering, making it perfect for morning or shaded spots.
This combo brings both color and texture, giving your container garden a balanced, inviting look all season.
Helechos Onoclea Sensibilis with Orange Daylilies
You can create a striking container combo by pairing Onoclea sensibilis ferns with bright orange daylilies. The fern’s lush green fronds provide a soft, textured backdrop to the bold, vibrant flowers.
Onoclea sensibilis thrives in moist soil and can handle shaded spots, so keeping the container consistently damp is key. This combo adds color and interest throughout the growing season, perfect for your porch or garden corner.
Silver Echeveria, Pink Dianthus, and Green Moss
You’ll love how the silver tones of Echeveria add a cool, modern touch to your container garden. The pink Dianthus brings a soft splash of color that contrasts nicely with the succulent’s muted shades.
Adding green moss fills in gaps and gives your arrangement a lush, natural feel. This combo works well in containers with good drainage and enjoys bright, indirect light. It’s low-maintenance but visually interesting throughout the seasons.
Summer Surviving Lantana, Sweet Potato Vine, and Salvia
You’ll love how lantana brings bright, long-lasting color to your containers. It handles full sun and heat well, making it a reliable choice for summer.
Sweet potato vine adds lush, trailing greenery that softens the pot’s edges. It’s low-maintenance and thrives in warm weather.
Salvia stands tall with striking spikes of flowers. This combo gives your container volume, color, and texture that lasts through the season.
Coral Bells, Creeping Jenny, and Blue Fescue
You can create a lovely container by combining coral bells, creeping Jenny, and blue fescue. Coral bells add rich color with their burgundy or chartreuse leaves.
Creeping Jenny spills over the edges, offering bright green or chartreuse tones and a soft trailing effect.
Blue fescue brings a contrast with its fine, blue-gray foliage and upright form. Keep in mind, blue fescue prefers full sun, while coral bells can tolerate some shade, so find a balanced spot for your containers.
Peony Blooms with Purple Veronica and Hostas
You’ll love how peony blooms add a soft, romantic touch when paired with the vibrant purple spikes of Veronica. The contrast creates an eye-catching display in your container.
Hostas bring lush, green foliage that frames the flowers nicely. They also add texture and fill space between blooms, keeping your arrangement full all season.
This combination works well because the plants have different heights and bloom times. You get color and interest from spring into summer without much fuss.
Pink Impatiens, Ferns, and White Bacopa
You’ll love how pink impatiens add a soft, cheerful touch to your container. Their bright blooms bring color without overwhelming the space.
Ferns add texture and depth with their delicate fronds. They also do well in part shade, complementing the impatiens nicely.
White bacopa offers a trailing effect, spilling gracefully over the sides. This combo works well where some shade is available, creating a balanced, fresh look.
Orange Zinnias with Blue Fescue and Dusty Miller
You can create a vibrant container by pairing orange zinnias with the cool tones of blue fescue. The bright orange flowers add warmth, while the grassy texture of blue fescue brings contrast.
Dusty miller’s soft, silvery leaves help balance the color palette. Together, these plants offer a mix of textures and colors that brighten any patio or porch. This combo is easy to maintain and looks great all season.
Trailing Tradescantia, Bright Snapdragons, and Silver Periwinkle
You can create a vibrant container combo by pairing trailing Tradescantia with bright snapdragons. The Tradescantia spills over the edge with soft, cascading foliage that adds texture to your display.
Snapdragons bring cheerful color and vertical interest, standing tall among the trailing plants. Silver periwinkle offers a cool, silvery contrast that brightens the entire arrangement.
Together, these plants create a balanced look that works well on patios or near entryways.
Compact Rosemary, Red Geranium, and White Alyssum
You’ll love how compact rosemary adds a lovely scent and texture to your container. Its evergreen needles give year-round structure that pairs well with red geraniums.
The bright red flowers of geraniums bring vibrant color and attract pollinators to your garden space.
White alyssum spills gently over the edges, softening the overall look with tiny, delicate blooms. This combo stays visually interesting throughout the season and is easy to care for.
Golden Sedge, Purple Verbena, and Silver Lamb’s Ear
You’ll love how golden sedge adds bright, grassy texture to your container. It pairs beautifully with the deep purple blooms of verbena, creating a nice contrast.
Silver lamb’s ear softens the combo with its velvety, light-toned leaves. This mix gives your container interest through color and texture, staying attractive all season long.
Red Asters, White Chrysanthemums, and Blue Fescue
You can create a vibrant container by combining red asters, white chrysanthemums, and blue fescue. The red asters add a splash of bold color, while the white chrysanthemums bring soft brightness.
Blue fescue provides a cool, grassy texture that balances the look. This mix works well from late summer through fall, giving your space a fresh and inviting feel.