Annuals For Container Garden Landscaping – Part 1

Spring is finally here and I’m excited for it to warm up enough to start my annual plantings!

Each year, I plant around 800 or more annuals throughout our yard and landscaping. I prefer annuals to perennials for many reasons – but the most important reasons are: I can change the look of our landscaping every year; and annuals bloom from Spring through late Fall, so there are always flowers.

Here are some of my plans for our front yard and driveway landscaping for 2021 – I hope you find inspiration here for your own yard and landscape!

Stay tuned for Part 2! I’ll be sharing ideas for brightly colored sun-loving annuals that work well on a patio, around a pool, in a fire pit area, and in a Bird Garden.

You can view photos of our front yard patio from several years ago at A Courtyard Patio Makeover – Part 2.

Driveway Urns

The urns are on square plinths and stand 7-feet tall overall, so they make quite a statement on our driveway. My rule-of-thumb for planting these urns is to have something very tall, something to fill in the mid-section, and something that spills over the edges of the urn. The urns are next to the woodline, so they get a little bit of shade in the late afternoon – otherwise, they are in full sun and are in a very windy area. The plants I’ve chosen for this year will work well in this environment.

I’m going to be planting yellowish-white flowers and lime-green and black vines. I created a mock-up of what I want the urns to look like in this image.

The plants I’ll be using are:

• Toucan Yellow Canna Lilys – These canna lilys bloom from Spring until late Fall and grow quite tall. The leaves are also a focal point for this plant.
• Superbells ‘Over Easy’ Calibrachoa – Calibrachoa flowers bloom continuously from Spring until late Fall. They grow in thick mounds of flowers and look great as a filler.
• Superbells ‘Double Chiffon’ Calibrachoa – In addition to my note above, Calibrachoa don’t need to be ‘dead-headed’, so they are an easy-to-care-for annual.
• Snowstorm ‘Snow Globe’ Bacopa – My Mom always used Bacopa as a filler plant. I love the white flowers and the thick growth of this plant. Thanks for the tip, Mom!
• Sweetheart ‘Jet Black’ Sweet Potato Vines – The black color of this plant makes it really stand out! It’s a great accent color to the lime green and yellowish-white flowers. It grows quickly and fills in fast.
• Sweetheart ‘Lime Green’ Sweet Potato Vines – The lime green of this plant looks right at home with the other color choices. I love how quickly it grows and how dense the plant is.
• Variegated ‘Wojo’s Jem’ Vinca Vines – The variegation of this plant complements the black and lime green vines together very well. It adds interest as the under-layer to all the other plants.

Driveway Pot

I like to have a large container of flowers in front of our garage, between the garage doors. I salvaged an old black iron bistro table base, and a large black iron hanging basket cage and use them together for the pot in front of our driveway – it works perfectly and looks great!

The front of our driveway faces North, so the area where this planter is located only gets very late afternoon sun – otherwise, it’s in the shade all day. I’ve selected plants that work well in the shade and coordinate well with the other plants in front of our house.

I created a mock-up of how I want this planter to look in this image.

The plants I’ll be using are:

• King Tut Egyptian Papyrus Grass – This grass is so amazing! I’ve planted it as an annual somewhere in our yard pretty much every year since we’ve lived in our house. It’s unique and is always a conversation starter when people see it. It grows quickly, and tall. It does require quite a bit of water, but since I plant it in this type of planter, I need to water it almost daily anyway (as the coir fiber drys out quickly).
• ‘Bewitched Green with Envy’ Sweet Potato Vines – I love the shape and the bright green of this potato vine. The leaves are sort of “ruffled” and I think it adds an interesting texture to a container planting.
• Coleus ‘Fishnet Stockings’ – This coleus is so cool! The leaves are bright green with black and dark green veining. As the name implies, the veining looks like a fishnet stocking and adds so much visual interest to a container.
• Petunia ‘Black Mamba’ – I love black flowers. Absolutely love them. The black stands out against the bright green of the other plants and adds depth to the planting. It’s a very striking color to add to a container garden.

Patio Urns

We have a large courtyard patio in front of our house. There is a large bay window off our Library that is the center point of this patio. We have two 36-inch tall white stone urn planters on either side of this window, and they create the main focal point of the patio plants.

I use a different large and tall plant in these planters each year, as well as different flowers as fillers, and different vines as spillers. Some of the tall plants I’ve used in years past have been large Peace Lilys, large Madagascar Palm Trees, trellised white Mandevilla’s, Mexican Sunflower Trees, or Canna Lilys. Last year I planted Banana Trees in these urns, and loved them so much that I’m going to plant them again this year. They add a touch of the tropics to our northern Minnesota home. I created a mock-up of how these urns will look this year. Can’t wait to get them planted!

The plants I’ll be using are:

• Banana Tree – These plants grow extremely fast and get very large. The leaves are huge and have interesting veining. They do very well in this area, even though it’s on the North side of our house and is in shade most of the day. The tree frogs absolutely love these banana trees – when you sit on the chairs beneath the trees at night, don’t be surprised if a tree frog lands on your head!
• Petunia ‘Pistachio Cream’ – I discovered this plant last year and used them in these urns. They are amazing! While I love all Petunias, this one is definitely my favorite! I love the lime green and cream color, as well as the ruffled edges of the flowers. They really are beautiful. They grow without having to dead-head and get very full. The flowers bloom from Spring until late Fall.
• Supertunia ‘Vista Snowdrift’ – Petunias really are one of my favorite annuals – you can’t help but love all those long-lasting, easy-to-care-for flowers. I love this variety because they’re a soft white with a lime green center. The lime green compliments the banana tree and Pistachio Cream flowers very well.
• Variegated ‘Wojo’s Jem’ Vinca Vine – I like to use this vine in the patio urns to carry over the look from the driveway urns. I also like the way the variegated leaves look with the flowers in these urns.

Courtyard Rectangle Planters

We have four rectangle planters around our courtyard patio. I change the annuals I put in these planters each year, but the flowers are always vanilla-white or greenish-white (not pure white).

I use three tall plants per planter, as well as two kinds of upright flowers, and three spilling types of flowers. Some years I use Corkscrew Grass for the upright plant, other years I use Dracaena indivisa ‘Spike Plants’, and some years Bird of Paradise or Elephant Ears. From experience, I can tell you that the Corkscrew Grass and Dracaena indivisa plants last for most of the Winter, as well as all Spring through Fall. For this reason, I now prefer them to the more tropical plants. Last year I had Bird of Paradise in these planters – but I’m reverting back to the Dracaena indivisa plants this year.

I also almost always use French Vanilla Marigolds in these planters. I love the extra large off-white color of the flowers, and that they bloom all Spring through late Fall. Last year during the pandemic, the potting soil I usually use was hard to find so I ended up having to use a different brand. Unfortunately, that soil stayed way too moist and eventually caused all the Marigolds to die by late-June. I ended up digging them out, but by early July here in Minnesota, the garden centers have very little left for annuals so I couldn’t find a white flower to replace the Marigolds. I ended up filling in the empty spots with bright green Coleus – so, sadly, no more flowers in these planters for the rest of Summer or Fall. I’ll be replacing the potting soil this year with my usual brand, but I’m still on the fence on whether or not to use the much-loved French Vanilla Marigolds. I might go rogue and do something different.

These rectangle planters sit on the patio just above a row of very thick cream and green variegated Hostas. Viewed from the front, you see a border of hostas, then the rectangle planters. Because of this, I like these planters to complement the border of hostas.

I created a mock-up of what I hope these planters will look like this year.

The plants I’ll be using are:

• Dracaena indivisa ‘Spike Plant’ – As I mentioned above, these plants not only last all Spring through Fall, they last most of the Winter, too – poking up through snow-covered planters. I like how tall and full they get, and I like that they’re spiky – this adds a nice texture to the rest of the garden and patio area.
• Petunia Surfina ‘Lime’ – This variety of Petunia is cascading and looks great spilling over the planter. I also like that it stays low so I can plant more upright flowers behind it. I also really love the off-white color with lime centers. I think this flower complements the Pistachio Cream Petunias that are in the Patio Urns.
• Pixie Bells of Ireland – I have always thought this was such a cool flower, but I’ve never been able to find it locally. This year, I started a batch of Pixie Bells of Ireland from seed. I’m hoping these young sprouts will be ready to be planted by the middle to end of May. I can’t wait to see what they look like in these planters! I think the lime green will work very well with the other flowers on and near the patio.

Courtyard Patio Pots

The courtyard patio has a lot of seating area for our family and our guests and I like to tuck potted plants in among the furniture. I especially like unusual plants that call attention to themselves. This area is decorated in mostly black and white as I feel the plants don’t have to compete with lots of colors and it helps them to stand out more.

Here’s a mock-up of some of the plants that will go in this area this year.

The plants I’ll be using are:

• Tacca integrifolia ‘White Bat Flower’ – This is such a cool plant! I’ve never had this plant before but ordered one online this Spring. I think the white and black parts of the flower will fit in with our black and white decor, and its unusual bat face shape will surely be a conversation plant. Can’t wait to watch this one grow throughout the season! I’ll bring this plant inside over the Winter and enjoy it as a houseplant. Win-win!
• Hosta ‘White Feather’ – I love hostas! We have around 160 of them – various varieties – planted throughout our landscaping. I love the more unusual varieties and how simple they are to grow and care for. I’ve been eyeing the White Feather Hosta for several years and was finally able to find it! I’m going to grow it in a pot on the patio and then bring it in during the Winter. I realize the leaves of this plant will eventually turn green, but I am going to make the most of it while the leaves are still white. So cool!
• Dianthus ‘Green Ball’ – Last year was the first year I had this plant. I grew it in a pot on the patio near the landing steps and everyone who saw it stopped to look at it. Most people said it looked like a plant out of a Dr. Seuss book – and I agree! The flowers are a bright green in the shape of a pom-pom. They bloom all season and each plant has many flowers on it. The flowers also make awesome cut flowers for a vase, and because there are so many flowers, you won’t even notice a few missing from the plant. I’ve got to grow this flower again this year – it’s just too cool to skip.
• Juncus ‘Corkscrew Rush’ – This is one of my favorite outdoor plants. It’s so unusual! The ‘leaves’ are a thick spiral with a waxy feel. This plant grows tall and quite thick. It thrives in lots of water, but can withstand dry periods for a short time (like when you forget to water it – oops!). I like to use it as an accent plant in a pot by itself, or as a tall plant among other plants in a container.
• Moonflower – As you already know, I love white flowers. But what I really like about this plant is that the flowers open at night! Because they’re white, they almost seem to glow when we sit out on the patio at night watching stars. Moths love these flowers, so it makes for an interesting sight. I grow these each Spring from plants I buy at the nursery. I have a curved black metal trellis that I use in the pot for the Moonflower vines to grow on. This plant grows very quickly, and in no time, the trellis is covered with vines and flowers.
• Nicotiana ‘Lime Green’ (Flowering Tobacco) – I salvaged an antique cast iron planter and now use it on the sidewalk leading up to our patio to hold annuals each year. I’ve had lots of different plants over the years in this planter, but this year I’m going to plant Flowering Tabacco – I just love the flowers on this plant and think they smell nice. The planter was painted white long ago and is now chippy with surface rust and I think it looks great just the way it is.

Courtyard Patio Sidewalk Pot

In front of our courtyard patio, there is a sidewalk in front of the row of hostas. Where the sidewalk turns, I salvaged the top part of a very old stone urn and put it on top of an old stone plinth. This planter is nestled among large globe Pinus mugo Pines. While you can’t see the planter when facing the house, you can see the plants that rise above the globe pines. I like to put large plants here such as Elephant Ear plants.

This past Winter, the heavy snow load tipped the salvaged planter into the pines and it looks pretty broken up. If I can salvage it, I’ll use it again as a planter. If I can’t salvage it, I’m going to put a large bowl planter on top of the plinth and make it into a container water garden feature.

Here’s a mock-up of what this planter could look like this year (assuming I can salvage it). I’m going to skip a cascading/spilling plant this year and just keep it clean looking with the grass as a filler/base.

The plants I’ll be using are:

• Elephants Ear ‘Coffee Cups’ – I’ve used this plant in the past and think it’s fabulous. The leaves are large and are cupped, unlike most Elephant Ears. I think it looks unusual and causes people to stop and take a good look at it. It grows very fast and can withstand high winds (this is a windy spot).
• Variegated Cat Grass – I found this Variegated Cat Grass this year and have been growing it indoors as a houseplant and for grass for our cats to chew on. I absolutely love it! I think it’s going to look awesome planted as a base under the Coffee Cups.

Entryway Urns

I would call the style of our house ‘contemporary Mediterranean’. I really like the charm of old stone urns in the front of our house and on our patio. I especially love when the stone planters have an aged patina from years of use. Some might think too many urn planters together might look overwhelming, but I actually like the look.

In addition to the two massive driveway urns and two large patio urns, we also have three medium size urns (20-inches tall) that flank the steps to the two entrances of our house – two urns on either side of our main arch entry, and one urn next to the steps on our service entry. I like having the plants in these planters complement the other plants on the courtyard patio. White flowers are my favorites, so these urns usually have white Mandevillas or Dipladenias in them. This year, I’m going with something simple – just a trellised plant.

I’ve created a mock-up of what the planters will look like this year.

The plants I’ll be using are:

• Mandevilla Trellis ‘White Sun Parasol’ – Mandevillas have beautiful white flowers that bloom from Spring to late Fall. The flowers are pure white and look very delicate. They’re a vining plant and look great growing on a trellis hidden within the planter. I also like to let some of the vines dangle down and around the urn for an even more dramatic effect. Because this plant is growing on a trellis and vining down, it acts as its own ‘filler’ plant, as well as a ‘spiller’ plant. Bonus!

Service Entry Landing

In addition to our main entry off the courtyard patio, we also have a service entry with steps and a landing area. One of the Entryway Urns (see above) will be placed next to these steps. There’s more room near the steps and on the landing in front of the door. I like to add plants to this space, too.

Every year I hang three kokedama moss balls with ferns in them from the overhead eaves. They are hung among a string of globe lanterns and look right at home in this spot. I also have a small vintage table in one corner of the landing and like to place tall plants that love shade on the table. There’s an old stone bench that my Mom gave us on the landing with a small table next to it. With a few pillows, it’s the perfect place to sit outside out of the rain during thunderstorms. In the Spring through Fall months, this landing becomes sort of its own ‘mini patio’ and looks so much more inviting with plants added to the space.

Here’s a mock-up of several plants and planters that will go in this area this year.

The plants I’ll be using are:

• Kokedama Moss Fern Balls – Hung from varying heights, these kokedama planters add interest to the high ‘ceiling’ over the service entry landing. You can never have too much green!
• Majesty Palm Tree – Majesty Palm Trees add tropical flair to any space. I love how tall and full this palm tree is – it fills a corner space very well.
• Lavender Coleus – The color and texture of this Coleus make it a beautiful accent plant. It grows very well in shade and adds a spot of color to any location.
• Caladium ‘Florida Moonlight’ – Oh my. This plant is gorgeous! I love the white leaves. Since our patio decor is black and white, I think this plant fits right in and looks very elegant. It loves the shade, so our landing spot is the perfect place for it to greet our visitors. It looks very nice on the small patio table I refinished – it was one of the patio furniture pieces in a Mother’s Day gift my husband and kids gave me more than 16 years ago. It’s also the last piece from that set, so it has special meaning to me.
• Jasminum officinale ‘Common Jasmine’ – Not only are these white flowers beautiful, they are very fragrant! I grow these in a large pot with a curved black metal trellis. I bring the plant inside in the Winter, and then put it back outside in the Spring. I’ve had this plant for several years now and it’s still thriving.
• Nepenthes ‘Monkey Cups’ – This carnivorous Monkey Cups plant just makes me smile. We like to sit out on this entryway landing at night, especially when it’s raining. This carnivorous plant takes care of a lot of flying pests we have at night, including Minnesota’s state bird… er, ah, I mean mosquito. It also looks really cool and people stop to look at it when they come to our house. Definitely a conversation plant!

Front Yard Landscaping Pots

Beyond our front yard courtyard is our landscaping. I like to place potted plants in the landscaping, sitting on the river rock. The plants add annual interest to the perennial plants in the landscaping.

We also have a water fountain in the front landscaping with four bowl planters nestled around it. The shape of the bowl planters complements the shape of the fountain. I like adding flowers to these pots that make the landscaping really ‘pop’!

Here’s a mock-up of some of the plants I’ll be adding in pots to our landscaping.

The plants I’ll be using are:

• White Rose Tree– We have a flagstone path that leads away from the courtyard patio, down a flight of stone steps and a flagstone path that leads to the Butterfly Garden. I like adding potted flowers along this path. This year I’m planting a white rose tree in a pot for this path. The fragrance is such a nice surprise when you walk by.  This rose tree blossoms from Spring until late Fall with lots of white roses.
• Gardenia Tree – In my opinion, every patio should have a Gardenia plant. The fragrance of this plant is like no other and always reminds me of Spring and Summer. I like the Gardenia in tree-form and thought it would complement the rose tree nicely. This potted tree will be closer to the courtyard patio along the stone path so we’ll be able to smell it from the patio. Gardenias blossom from Spring until late Fall. Sometimes I bring these plants inside in the Winter and use them as houseplants. They don’t always make the transition from outside to inside very well, but it’s always worth the try.
• Colocasia (Elephant Ear) ‘Black Magic’ – The leaves of the Elephant Ear plant get very large. This plant grows quickly and makes a statement wherever you plant it. There are many varieties of Elephant Ear plants available – this year I’m planting the Black Magic to use as an accent plant. The leaves of the Black Magic are almost black, and I think it will complement the other plants on and near the front patio.
• Gladiolus ‘White Prosperity’ – I have never planted Gladiolus before. They remind me of my Grandma, so I thought I’d give this a try this year. I realize Gladiolus are not annuals – they’re bulbs that you dig up and replant the following year. I’m going to plant the bulbs in a pot and see if I can get them to grow on the patio. They’ll only flower for a short time, but I’m still excited to give this a try.
• Supertunia ‘Vista Snowdrift’ and Snowstorm Snow Globe Bacopa  – For the past many years, I have potted the bowl planters around the fountain with French Vanilla Marigolds. They always look beautiful (except last year – as mentioned above). This year I want to do something a little different. Besides changing the potting soil to a better draining soil, I’m going to plant white Bacopa and white Petunias in these bowl planters. The planters sit right on the river rock, so I don’t want a plant that will cascade over the pot too much. These Supertunias will stay mounded and will blossom from Spring to late Fall. I think they’ll look nice with all the other flowers I’ve selected for this front yard landscaping and patio.

I have no doubt that I’ll find additional plants to add to our front yard and driveway landscaping. I already know I’ll be adding several houseplants to our patio coffee table and end tables, and I’m thinking bright pops of pink flowers will also look nice. Sitting outside among all these annuals after a long day at work is very rewarding to me and I look forward to another year of relaxing among the plants. I hope you discovered some new ideas for your own landscaping!

Stay tuned for Part 2!

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