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If you’re looking for a container that shines in the sun and brings serious impact to your porch or patio, this one’s for you.

Our Summer Sun recipe is all about structure, texture, and light. White blooms keep things crisp and elegant. Trailing greens soften the edges. And just enough variety in foliage keeps it interesting without feeling cluttered. It’s a container that works hard but looks effortless — the kind you can set on your front steps and not touch again except to water.

Here’s how to build it.

The Recipe

• White Mandevilla (Thriller): A stunning upright vine with large white blooms. It climbs if you give it a trellis or obelisk, or stands tall and full in the center of the container.
• White Begonia (Filler): Delicate, bright blooms that keep the color palette clean and classic. Begonias are workhorses — they bloom all season without fuss.
• Creeping Jenny (Spiller): Vibrant chartreuse tendrils that spill gracefully over the edge, adding movement and contrast against the white blooms.
• Asparagus Fern (Filler): Light, airy texture with fine green fronds. Adds softness without competing with the flowers.
• Dracaena (Filler): Structural, variegated foliage that adds height, contrast, and a touch of the unexpected. Keeps the container from feeling too soft or predictable.
• Diamond Frost Euphorbia (Filler): Tiny white blossoms that look like floating clouds throughout the design. Adds volume and a whimsical, airy quality.

Where to Place It

This is a full-sun container. It thrives with 6+ hours of direct sunlight and loves hot, sunny porches, patios, and front steps. The mandevilla and Diamond Frost especially crave heat — the more sun they get, the more they bloom.

How to Care for It

Watering

Containers dry out faster than garden beds, especially in full sun. Water deeply when the top inch of soil feels dry — usually daily on hot summer days. If the mandevilla or begonias start to wilt, they need water.

Feeding

For the best blooms, use a liquid fertilizer once a week. This keeps flowers coming strong all season long.

• Lower-maintenance option: Add a slow-release fertilizer at planting time. It feeds for up to 3 months and takes the guesswork out of fertilizing.
• Deadheading: Pinch off spent begonia blooms to encourage more flowers. The mandevilla and Diamond Frost are self-cleaning — no deadheading needed.

Make It Your Own

This recipe is a guide, not a rule. Want more drama? Add a second mandevilla or swap the white begonias for coral. Prefer all-green foliage? Skip the Dracaena and double up on asparagus fern. Love trailing plants? Add a second spiller like bacopa or lobelia.

Containers are flexible. Make it yours.

Get the Look

Stop by Sunnyside Gardens to shop pre-planted containers or pick up the recipe and DIY. Our team can help you choose the right plants, pick the perfect container, and answer any questions about keeping it thriving all season.

And when it’s planted? Tag us on Instagram or Facebook — we’d love to see your Summer Sun container come to life.