15 Gorgeous Spring Container Ideas to Try This Year
Add some variety to your spring garden by experimenting with containers! There are almost endless combinations to try and beautiful spring flowers to play with. Use this article as inspiration for your next potting session.
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There are many reasons why spring is exciting for gardeners, but one of my favorites is spring containers.
Potting up new containers is a great way to experiment in the garden and introduce pops of color to areas where you can’t plant in the ground, like patios or balconies. Deciding what to plant, carefully pairing them together, and watching them flourish is inherently creative and allows you to play with combinations in a less permanent way.
Whether you don’t have much garden space or just want to experiment and decorate, these 15 spring container ideas will get your creative juices flowing.
Colorful Pansies
Pansies are a staple of spring containers, either on their own or paired with other plants. They thrive in the cooler early spring weather and bloom prolifically, perfect for adding pops of color to dull areas.
For an easy maintenance spring container idea with some variety, try pairing different types of pansies and violas together in the same containers. You’ll achieve unity and harmony in shape and size while adding interest in color. Picking the same plants but changing up the containers is another way to add interest.
Remember to continually deadhead the flowers to keep your pansies blooming and looking their best.
Overflowing Petunias
Another spring container staple, petunias are great for large pots or hanging baskets. The massive flowers command attention, and their cascading nature is ideal for spilling over the sides of containers.
Like pansies, you can add interest to this spring container idea by planting different types of petunias together or by planting a seed blend that will produce a mix of colors. Petunias look great in pots on their own, but they can also be paired with foliage to add depth or a contrasting color, as in this example with green-gray foliage to highlight the bright colors of the petunias.
Spice Up Your Herbs
Potted herbs are present in my garden year-round. Growing herbs in pots provides easier access for quick harvesting and enhances the appearance of the herb garden. For a useful spring container idea, spruce up your traditional herb containers with a few classic flowers to add color and attract pollinators.
In this example, tulips add that classic spring look, surrounded by rosemary and oregano. If you’re too late to plant bulbs, use a range of spring annuals in your herb containers. Try edible flowers like sweet alyssum or nasturtium for ornamental value that can also be used in the kitchen.
Pair Alyssum and Impatiens
A lovely and classic combination for shaded patios, alyssum and impatiens grow well together. Speaking of alyssum, this annual is a great option for trailing down the sides of containers or hanging baskets. In this spring container idea, they are paired with dramatic impatiens for a strong color contrast. The combination of dark foliage with bright green and white alyssum highlights and emphasizes the colors of both.
Both alyssum and impatiens grow well together and bloom prolifically throughout the season, ensuring you’ll never be short on color.
Use Complementary Colors
While the previous pairing was quite dramatic, another way to highlight the colors of your flowers is by using the color wheel.
Complementary colors are those that are opposite each other on the color wheel. Placing them together heightens the hues of both plants and is useful when designing your containers. In this square planter, yellow and orange nasturtium flowers are placed next to purple petunias, highlighting both colors. The pink petunias in the foreground bring added softness to this overflowing spring container.
This combination would also work well in a hanging basket. But keep in mind that nasturtium tends to take over, so plant carefully and ensure there is enough space for them to fill out.
Try Foodscaping
Nasturtiums can be used for more than their ornamental value. These flowers are also popular in edible gardens, as all parts of the plant can be used in the kitchen. The flowers are often used as edible decoration, but the peppery leaves and even the seed pods are edible, too.
Plant nasturtiums in pots among other flowers to foodscape your container garden, or pair them with herbs in a hanging basket for easy harvesting. In this spring container idea, the foodscaping element is highlighted by using a recycled colander as a hanging container.
Flowers and Foliage
If you want to instantly upgrade the look of your flower pots, plant some understated textural foliage plants among the blooms. Try dusty miller for a soft, silvery-gray hue or hardy purple cabbage to pick up the hues of violet flowers.
This pairing adds interest and draws more attention to the bright springy colors by giving the eye a place to rest.
Hanging Spring Baskets
If you’re running out of space, that doesn’t mean you should give up on planting new spring containers. Make use of your vertical space by growing colorful spring blooms in hanging baskets.
This combination of petunias and geraniums is ideal for hanging, as the stems grow upward and slowly cascade down the sides of the container, beautiful to view from all angles. Previously mentioned annuals, including alyssum, petunias, and pansies, will also look great in hanging baskets.
Vary Heights
One of the central rules of designing containers is the “thriller, filler, spiller” motto. This involves designing with a central feature plant, filler plants that are slightly lower, and a spiller plant to trail down the sides. However, there are other ways to play with your design, including varying the heights of your plants.
In this example, taller dianthus is densely planted alongside lower-growing petunias, creating an interesting combination that highlights the central blooms. Varying heights ensure there are flowers at all levels of your container, drawing the eye around the pot. Adding other decorative elements is another great way to enhance the interest of your container combinations.
Bring Spring Indoors
When you go to the effort of planting spring containers, you want to be able to enjoy them at all times of the day. Consider where you’re placing your containers and try to locate them close to windows so you can enjoy the blooms from indoors and out.
Window boxes are ideal for this, but if you don’t have any available, you can also place your pots close to windows, like these impatiens, to enjoy the blooms while you’re inside. It’s a great way to brighten up your home in early spring while giving the plants the conditions they need to flower prolifically.
Prolific Bloomers
Imagining the perfect spring container, you probably envision carpets of color from masses of blooms. To achieve this look, choose combinations of spring flowers that bloom prolifically throughout the season.
Here, taller poppies are paired with violas and asters, completely covering this low container in blooms. The taller poppies are placed in the center with the lower-growing flowers on the edges, ensuring that none is overshadowed and all can be enjoyed from every angle.
Sweet and Simple
If finding complementary colors and flower shapes isn’t your thing, you can still achieve gorgeous spring containers with just one plant. Pick something that flowers prolifically, like the white daisies above. Use enough of the same plant to fill out the pot and you have a classic look with no fuss.
Try feverfew or chamomile for a similar clean look, or pick a bolder shade, like the deep purple of salvia. If you want more contrast, try three pots in one shade, and two alongside it that provide contrast. The more luxurious the pots, the more elevated these simple designs will look.
Use Bulbs
Spring bulbs are staples of containers, but this container idea requires some planning ahead. For your spring bulbs to pop up in spring, you should plant them in fall. This planning and thinking ahead will be well worth the effort when your flowers emerge.
Pairing different types that flower at different times throughout the season is a great way to add continual interest and ensure there’s always something to look forward to. The layering method of planting is known as lasagna planting and changes up the container week after week without you having to do anything. If you don’t want your containers to sit bare, plant a low-growing annual on top, like sweet alyssum, to cover the soil until spring.
Use Soft Colors
Whenever you’re deciding what to plant in your spring containers, it’s important to consider the color palettes you’re after. Spring is often filled with a kaleidoscope of bright colors, but if you’re looking for a more harmonious or neutral combination, choose flowers in a similar color family that provide interest without overwhelming the senses.
These white and pink petunias look stunning with the darker purple lobelias, adding some variety without overdoing it.
Get Creative with Containers
Plant pairings and color combinations are not the only ways to be creative with your spring container ideas. The containers themselves are also an opportunity to change up your look.
You don’t have to stick to traditional pots or hanging baskets if you don’t want to. Anything can technically be a container as long as it has drainage holes and enough space for your chosen plants to thrive.
Choose containers that match your garden design style, like this bicycle planter for a dainty cottage garden or angular geometric planters for more modern garden designs. It’s also a great opportunity to recycle what you already have around the garden, making the space completely unique to you.
