Creating a beautiful container garden is a matter of understanding color and composition. With the help of some expert advice we can help you create some eye-popping planters. Once you get the hang of it you won’t be able to contain yourself!

The reality is that putting together a picture perfect planter is as easy as learning the A, B, C’s of garden design. It is that easy when you follow a couple of simple rules.

Number 1 – A good rule of thumb whether you are composing for a container or placing plants in the landscape always plant in odd numbers; i.e. 1, 3, 5 or 7. This is also true when you are combining finished planters on a deck or patio. In simplest terms think of a combination that contains a small, medium and large planter.

Number 2 – Next consider composition. A good way to remember combining plants is to think in terms of ‘thrillers’ – a tall and spiky element; ‘fillers’ – those items that you can pack between the tall and cascading plants in the container; and then, of course, the ‘spillers’ or cascading elements within the planter.

Number 3 – Composing that perfect combination of colors is easy when you remember your childhood color wheel (or you can just download one from the internet). Color combinations are either monochrome – all one color which is good when you practice color echoing; complimentary – those colors adjacent in the color spectrum; and then contrasting – those colors that provide a visual punch using colors opposite on the color wheel.

While container gardening is not a perfect science you will find you can achieve consistent results when you combine the three basic ingredients: vertical, filler and trailing plants. Success can be yours when you follow this simple recipe – just add water!

If you want to take you containers to the next level you can start to apply the same principals to the element of the container itself. There is no reason why you can’t mix or match container styles and colors to create a truly one of a kind composition. The possibilities are truly endless.

When you are putting together your palette of plant material you might want to check out our list of some of the most versatile plants in the garden.