15 Spring Container Garden Recipes

Take the guesswork out of mixing and matching plants with these ready-made combinations.

By: Julie Martens Forney

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Photo By: Photo courtesy of National Garden Bureau

Photo By: Photo courtesy of Sakata Ornamentals

Photo By: Photo courtesy of Ball Horticultural Company

Photo By: Photo courtesy of Proven Winners

Photo By: Photo courtesy of Sakata Ornamentals

Photo By: Photo courtesy of Proven Winners

Photo By: Photo courtesy of Sakata Ornamentals

Photo By: Photo courtesy of National Garden Bureau

Photo By: Photo courtesy of Ball Horticultural Company

Photo By: Photo courtesy of Proven Winners

Photo By: Photo courtesy of Ball Horticultural Company

Photo By: Photo courtesy of Proven Winners

Photo By: Photo courtesy of Ball Horticultural Company

‘Confetti Glossy Strawberry’

Your containers will sparkle when you plunk a pretty Confetti garden into a pot. Growers make this eye-catching combination goofproof—you buy it, already mixed, in a 6- or 12-inch pot or basket. Or, buy the plants separately and tuck them into the same pot. Recipe for 12-inch pot (1 each in 4-inch pots): Red Fox Peppy Red petunia, Empress Flair Red verbena and Yolo White sweet alyssum.

‘Dynamite Silhouette Mix’ Pansy

Highlight the beauty of pastels by planting pots with this pretty pansy mix. When bedding plant breeders develop varieties, they often blend the single colors into an eye-pleasing mix. Buy these mixes, and you’re on your way to practically perfect containers. Recipe: Purchase the number of cell packs needed to give your pot a lush, full look. A rough guide is one 4-cell pack per 8-inch pot.

SimplySalad ‘Alfresco Mix’

Colorful greens can create a striking container garden, and the blend is goofproof when it’s a SimplySalad brand. This blend of red and green leaf lettuces, arugula, endive and radicchio is perfectly designed by the grower. Look for it in 4- to 8-inch pots. Recipe: Buy one 4-inch pot and plant it into a 6- to 8-inch container.

‘Pleasantly Blue’ Petunia Fuseables

Classic petunias display updated style in a perfect blend of purple shades. Grandiflora petunias—the kind with the big flowers—stage a big show with this grower-produced custom blend of ‘Dreams Midnight’ and ‘Daddy Blue’ petunias. Look for this blend planted in 4- to 10-inch pots. Recipe: Buy a pre-planted pot and drop it into your own 8- to 10-inch-wide container.

On My Honor Container Recipe

Dress up spring and early summer with a just-right palette of yellow and purple. This blend is a strong spring and early summer performer. Color continues all summer long in regions with cool summers. Recipe for 12-inch pot (2 plants each in 4-inch pots): Sunsatia ‘Lemon’ nemesia, Anytime ‘Sugarplum’ pansiola and Dark Knight sweet alyssum.

‘Floral Showers Mix’ Snapdragon

Pretty and petite, this snapdragon mix features perfect-for-spring colors. Plants grow to 8 inches tall, so this is a great annual to tuck into pots on porches or patios. In regions with cool summers, snip spent flower stalks and fertilize, and you should see more flowers. Recipe: Purchase the number of cell packs needed to give your pot a lush, full look. A rough guide is one 4-cell pack per 6-inch pot or one 6-cell pack per 8-inch pot.

Feeling Grapeful Container Recipe

Go bold with a neon color combination that will look good until fall frost. The Supertunia and sweet potato vine are both excellent spiller plants. Tuck them into a tall container or hanging basket to let them shine. Recipe for 12-inch pot (2 plants each in 4-inch pots): ‘Indigo Charm’ Supertunia and ‘Sweet Caroline Light Green’ sweet potato vine.

‘Diamond Blush Pink’ Dianthus

Dianthus, also called sweet William, is a solid cool-season performer, looking its best in spring and fall. Find ‘Diamond Blush Pink’ dianthus, and you’ll have a spectacular pot that’s perfectly color coordinated—all from one plant. Blooms open white, shift to pink and mature to deep rose. Plants grow 6 inches tall, so choose pots on the shorter side. Recipe: Purchase the number of cell packs needed to give your pot a lush, full look. A rough guide is one 4-cell pack per 6-inch pot.

Kwik Kombo Primary Perfection

Design a dazzling container with this ready-made mix featuring primary colors. The blooms in this bouquet beckon butterflies. Look for this planter as is in a 6- or 12-inch pot or basket. Or, buy the plants separately and tuck them into the same pot. Recipe for 12-inch pot (1 each in 4-inch pots): Callie Yellow calibrachoa, Techno Heat Dark Blue lobelia and Lanai Scarlet with Eye verbena.

Cloud N Sky Fuseables

Capture the colors of a spring afternoon sky with this eye-catching color duet. Shock Wave Coconut petunia provides the clouds, while Blutopia bacopa brings on peeks of sunset sky in lavender-pink. Plants bloom continuously spring through fall frost. Both of these plants trail, so this combination looks fantastic in a pedestal planter or hanging basket. Recipe: Drop a 6-inch pot into a 10-inch patio container, or tuck 2 6-inch pots into a 12-inch container.

Icarus Container Recipe

Dress up a part to full shade spot with non-stop color. Icarus recipe features plants that like it on the cool side, but you can get strong summer color if you tuck your pot into a shaded spot (a northern exposure is great). Recipe for 16-inch pot: 2 plants each in 4-inch pots of non-stop yellow tuberous begonia and Laguna Sky Blue lobelia; 1 4-inch pot of Sweet Caroline Bewitched sweet potato vine.

‘21st Century Patriot Mix’ Phlox

This is Phlox drummondii, an all-star for cool-season color that releases a heady perfume. The Patriot Mix is known for its ability to flower all summer long when planted in spring’s cool temps. Butterflies and bees love the flowers, too. The color mix is already put together for an artistically pleasing show. Recipe: Purchase the number of cell packs needed to give your pot a lush, full look. A rough guide is one 4- or 6-cell pack per 6-inch pot.

Claim to Fame Container Recipe

Get ready for butterflies when you plant this pretty in pink combination! Both of these bloomers pump out the flowers from spring to fall frost, and all kinds of pollinators love the nectar they offer. You’ll get best flowering when you place your pot in full sun. Recipe for 12-inch pot (1 plant each in 4-inch pot): Blushing Princess sweet alyssum and Superbena Royale Plum Wine.

Utopia Bacopa Fuseables

Bacopa can turn heads with its blizzard of bloom. Turn up the color by using a Fuseables blend that’s so perfect they called it Utopia. Plants open blossoms in white (Snowtopia) and lavender (Blutopia). Look for this blend planted in 6- to 10-inch pots. Recipe: Drop a 6-inch pot into a 10-inch patio container, or tuck 2 6-inch pots into a 12-inch container.

15 Spring Container Garden Recipes

Related To:

Shop This Look

‘Confetti Glossy Strawberry’

‘Dynamite Silhouette Mix’ Pansy

SimplySalad ‘Alfresco Mix’

‘Pleasantly Blue’ Petunia Fuseables

On My Honor Container Recipe

‘Floral Showers Mix’ Snapdragon

Feeling Grapeful Container Recipe

‘Diamond Blush Pink’ Dianthus

Kwik Kombo Primary Perfection

Cloud N Sky Fuseables

Icarus Container Recipe

‘21st Century Patriot Mix’ Phlox

Claim to Fame Container Recipe

Utopia Bacopa Fuseables

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