Planting flowers and plants in containers is a great way to bring more brightness, radiance, and color to your garden. They are a great way of making your garden look more attractive and inviting. It also can provide a wonderful fragrance or scent. You can add flowers and plants to the different parts of your garden including a deck or patio.

Containers also allow you to get creative in the garden by mixing different plants together in one pot. Mixing different plants in a container is an attractive and fun way to make use of space and create interest in your garden. You can also create a natural look by adding tall plants, such as bamboo or palm trees, to the mix. Container gardening can reduce the amount of time and money you spend on maintenance.

Mixing plants together enables them to grow fuller and last longer because they are not competing for space and nutrients in the soil. Containers can provide a natural habitat for pollinators such as bees and butterflies. When mixing different plants in a container you can think of them as a bouquet in a container. Plus, this bouquet will last a lot longer than cut flowers.

What is also great is many breeders have experimented with different plants and produced many great combinations for you to select from. You can create your own or go with the plants they selected. Whatever you decide to do there are many options to pick from.

Here are some of our favorites that you can find this year or next year at your local garden center:

From Proven Winners:

Valley of Fire: This combination is for a partial shade location and has a great look for fall. This was planted in a 14-inch container. This container combination is great for spring-fall. It has one plant of each in the mix:

• ColorBlaze® El Brighto Coleus – 1 plant - Thriller
• ColorBlaze® Newly Noir™ Coleus – 1 plant - Thriller
• Toffee Twist Sedge – 1 plant - Thriller
• Sweet Caroline Red Hawk™ Ipomoea – 1 plant - Spiller
• ColorBlaze® Mini Me™ Watermelon Coleus – 1 plant - Thriller

Pineapple Cooler: Try this bright, cheerful combination in a full sun to partial sun environment. The plants used in this mix are drought or heat tolerant. These plants were planted in a 12-inch container. This container combination is great for spring-fall. This mix has the following plants:

• Luscious® Goldengate™ Lantana – 2 plants - Filler
• Mojave® Yellow Purslane – 2 plants - Spiller
• Sweet Caroline Sweetheart Lime Ipomoea – 1 plant - Spiller

Be Kind: Try this attention-grabbing mix of flowers and papyrus in a full sun to partial sun environment. These plants were planted in a 14-inch container. This container combination is great for spring-fall. This mix has the following plants:

Graceful Grasses® Queen Tut™ Dwarf Papyrus – 2 plants – Thriller

Laguna® Compact Blue with Eye Lobelia – 2 plants – Filler

From Ball Seed:

Biden My Time: This flower mix has been developed to keep all plants perfectly balanced. Each plant variety is individually propagated and custom treated. This container mix is perfect for spring-fall. It has the following plant:

• Bidens Bee Happy™ Red - Filler
• Calibrachoa Cabaret® Yellow – Spiller
• Verbena Firehouse™ Red – Spiller

Bloom Of Allegiance: This combination has a mix of heat-loving flowers and is colorful. It is a great example of a container having a thriller, spiller, and filler. This container mix is perfect for spring-fall. It has the following plant:

• Angelonia AngelMist® Spreading White - Thriller
• Lantana Lucky™ Red - Filler
• Scaevola Blue Brilliance – Spiller

Enchanted Evening Trixi®:  This 3-in-1 combination has a great mix of flowers and will be available in 2023. It does well in the heat and these flowers will hold their color throughout the entire season. Try growing it in a hanging basket as the flowers will look great cascading over the side. This container mix is perfect for spring-fall. It has the following plant:

• Calibrachoa MiniFamous® Uno White - Spiller
• Petunia Headliner™ Enchanted Sky, - Spiller
• Verbena Blues™ Purple+Eye - Spiller

Let us know your favorite combinations.

Photos courtesy of Proven Winners and Ball Seed.