Porch Pots : Creating Stunning Containers for your Porch and Patio

Summer’s sizzle is almost here when you long to relax on your porch or patio with a big glass of sweet tea, a fan and a good book! But before you start relaxing, why not add some pizzazz by dressing up your outside space with containers of lush and colorful plants? Containers add a welcoming touch for your guests, can be moved to wherever you need some interest and with just some simple care reward you with beauty all season long.

There is an amazing array of plants that will add eye-popping drama to your sunny and shady areas. Some of my favorites include the tall, spiky tropical Cordyline ‘Red Sensation,’ the colorful and long-blooming Fuchsia ‘Electric Lights,’ and the cascading succulent, Mezoo™ ‘Trailing Red’ Dorotheanthus. New Guinea impatiens and SunPatiens® continue to be popular choices as well because they put on a flower show all summer long.

How to Plant a Summer Container:

• Gather your materials – container, potting mix, plants, fertilizer and a coffee filter for drainage. Make sure your selected plants have similar light and water requirements.

• Place a coffee filter or piece of weed block material over the drainage hole of the pot.

• Add potting mix (not garden soil) to a level where the top of the plants will sit an inch below the top of the container. Leave this inch space so soil does not wash out when you water. 

• Stir into the potting mix some E.B. Stone Sure Start™ organic fertilizer mix or a slow-release fertilizer according to package directions.

• Place your tallest plant (thriller) in the middle or the back of the container. If the pot will be seen from all sides, place the thriller in the middle. If the pot will be against a wall, place your thriller in the back.

• Add medium-size plants (fillers) around your tall thriller and cascading plants (spillers) near the edges of the pot so they will trail over the side as they grow.

• Add more potting mix around the root balls as needed, pressing firmly to get out air pockets.

• Water well.  

Design Tips from the Pros:

Use larger containers for a bigger impact and you can add more plants! Pack your plants in tightly for a finished look.

Don’t just focus on flowering annuals – think “outside the pot” and use plants with interesting foliage, color, texture and fragrance. Consider plants that are edible or will attract butterflies and hummingbirds for added value. Add perennials and small trees to containers for year-round interest and succulents for unusual textures and shapes.

Place pots in odd-number groupings of 3-5 or more for a bigger splash. Tie together the grouping by using one or two of the same plants in each container and stick to the same color palette. Purchase pillows for your porch swings and chairs in the same colors to pull the whole design together.

Include hanging baskets, window boxes and porch railing planters for a lush look. Boston ferns are the quintessential southern hanging plant for a shady porch. Also consider a vining rex begonia or Swedish ivy.

Add a grouping of containers on the steps leading up to your porch or front door.

To keep your containers looking spectacular all season, deadhead spent flower blooms and water with a liquid fertilizer every two weeks.