My favorite plants for sunny spots
Summer is in full swing! I wanted to share some of my favorite thrillers, fillers and spillers for areas that get full sun.
My favorite sun-loving thrillers (the one tall plant that gives the arrangement height) are grasses, hibiscus and oleander. Grasses and oleander don't require as much water so they are perfect if you have a really hot, sunny spot and aren't into watering the pots on a daily basis. I do love hibiscus though for their large blooms. Hibiscus don't like to dry out however, so these pretties need more frequent watering. Warning, oleander is poisonous, so beware if you have pets who eat plants!
Fun, flowering fillers (the plants that surround the thriller and make it full) for sunny spots are angelonia, sunpatiens and lantana. All these flowers have tons of colorful blooms and thrive in heat.
My go-to spillers (the plants that spill over the sides of the pot) for sun are moneywort, sweet potato vine, dichondra silver falls, scaevola and purslane. I like them all equally but use them for different reasons. If I need a pop of bright green, I use moneywort when I have a shorter pot because it won't grow too long, otherwise if I have a taller pot, I will use the bright green sweet potato vine. Sweet potato vine also comes in dark purple and several variegated options. The other varieties of sweet potato vine don't grow as aggressively as the bright green type. Dichondra silver falls has a gorgeous silvery grey color that looks beautiful against a cobalt blue pot. It has a texture similar to moneywort. If you want a flowering spiller, you will love scaevola for the continuous blooms. It comes in periwinkle, light pink and white. Lastly, purslane can withstand heat and drought so it is great spiller for those conditions and flowers like crazy in the sun.
In this picture above I am using a red hibiscus as the thriller, yellow lantana as the filler and dichondra silver falls as the spiller. These were newly planted when I took the picture but soon the dichondra will be more full and spill over the sides of the gorgeous blue pots.
Thrillers, fillers and spillers for shade
I must admit, I love the plant options for shady container gardens the most!
The thrillers that I tend to use a lot in the shade are majestic palm and kimberly queen fern. These can both take some sun too, so I love their versatility.
Can't beat caladium as a filler, especially the white and green variety. A classic! I also like dragon wing begonia and impatiens.
Ivy is a fantastic spiller for shade and is great for a pot year-round. Another option is a macho fern that drapes over the edge of the pot - talk about drama!
In this picture, I am using kimberly queen ferns as the thrillers, caladiums and dragon wing begonias as the fillers and sweet potato vines as the spillers. LOVE!
Need a fun team building or girls night out idea?
Container gardening workshops are a unique girls night out for a group of girl friends, mothers and daughters or co-workers. I recently held a class for a bible study girls night out group and we had such a good time! These workshops are typically 1.5 hours and start with a 30 minute container gardening presentation on the basics of container garden design and my favorite flowers for the season. I bring all the supplies that participants need to design and create their own container garden to take home and enjoy all season long. Prices run $20/per person. Give me a shout if you'd like to know more about these workshops.
Let Adorn Help You
Do you love pretty planters but don't have time to do it yourself? Let Adorn plant seasonal flowers and plants in your outdoor pots and cross that task off your list. Whether it's for your front porch or store front, we'd love to help. Also, an Adorn gift certificate makes a perfect gift for a housewarming or birthday.
Curb Appeal Shout Out!
When you own a fabulous boutique, are a mom to 2 busy girls AND you are a super active community volunteer, you don't have time to do your own outdoor planters. We are delighted to help Katherine create welcoming curb appeal through container gardens at her clothing store, Gretta Sloane.
Katherine has owned Gretta Sloane for 2 years and her favorite thing about owning the store is the people. "I thrive on meeting new people and chatting it up with friends. I cherish each encounter I have with one of the "Great Girls" (all the great girls who work for me), a new customer, a Saturday regular or Dee, our post woman. These relationships are what makes doing this job never feel like I'm doing a job. We love Adorn for many reasons. First, I kill every plant I ever buy or plant. So I've decided to leave all planting up to the professionals. Second, the first impression someone has of the store is from the front, whether they are stopping in for something special, browsing after a trip to Organic Squeeze, on their morning walk to Starbucks with the dogs, parking to get their hair done. We want everyone who encounters Gretta Sloane to feel welcome and comfortable even before they walk in. Adorn helps us do that. Finally, we use Adorn because Elizabeth is a joy to work with. She makes it easy for me. She contacts me at the beginning of every season with a timeframe and ideas. I don't have to lift a finger. We love Adorn!"
Katherine has such an eye for fashion! Check out her store in Nichols Hills Plaza for fab clothes, shoes and accessories for every season.
You only get one chance to make a first impression, make it count!