Gardening in containers is a great way to experiment with color, personal style, and plant combinations.

It’s also a great solution for those with restricted gardening space as the size of the pot matters less than what’s planted inside it.

I prefer to garden in containers because I’m what my husband refers to as a decoration commitment-phobe. I love to change the look of my front porch along with change of the seasons. What quicker way is there to make a new statement than to change what’s in my flower urns and moveable gardens?

I love daffodils and tulips placed in pots of all sizes and finishes around the porch and around the still sleeping flower beds of Spring. Summer brings my bright and blazing vine roses, and my Fall containers boast mum-filled pots in 10 different colors…but, I digress.

No matter what plant design you choose, you can change them as frequently or infrequently as you want to. What’s more is that if you don’t like something you designed, you can simply take it out and start over with little planning or hard work.

I find that the container has as much to do with the success of a design as the plants you choose. There are a great variety of containers on the market. Most Garden Stores have a variety of ceramic and terracotta pots in different sizes, as well as glazed and ornamental pots and urns made from a variety of materials. Many container gardens are 100% portable for those who live in an apartment, share a common gardening area, or move frequently.

Container Designing Tips:

There aren’t any style rules for designing a container garden, but you will need to design your planter in a way that allows the plants you choose to thrive. Your favorite garden center can give you tips on what the best plants are for your planting zone.

I prefer to think of designing my container gardens as I would if I were designing a sculpture. Like with any good work of art, the artist must consider a few basic guidelines to make it a success:

• Focal Point
• Background or filler
• Color Choices

If you find that you aren’t happy with what you’ve created, you can easily start over again with a new color or plant combination. Or maybe keep what you created and add on to make it more appealing to your personal style. The sky is really the limit with container gardening.