Breaking New Ground in Container Plants

Christina Salwitz

My head is spinning with container design ideas after spending a week touring Southern California for the California Spring Trials courtesy of the National Garden Bureau. I was treated to a buffet of new plants to ogle day after day, many that were new to me for 2017 and many that were familiar.

What was so exciting and new for container plants that I have to share it with all of you this month? There were truly amazing options in every facet of plants from foliage to bloom, tiny and tall, dramatic and bold, then some lesser known “underdogs” that seem to get little attention and deserved it!

Let’s start with one of my teeny tiny favorites from Hort Couture’s new coleus series Under the Sea called Sea Monkey Rust. These were just so dang cute you want to pinch them! Perfect for the ever so “Pinteresty” miniature gardening and terrarium craze.

The bold Garvinea Gerberas had me “sold” as soon as their cutting-grown habit rather than grown-from-seed benefit was explained to me. They had beefy, multi-crowned centers and the sales representative was growing them beautifully in Canada north of me in Seattle where they typically have issues.

Who needs luck when you can have three colors of this epic trifolium to choose from for container designs? I can’t decide which one I love more. They’re all spectacular and my foliage design obsession can be fulfilled in a bunch of ways.

There’s a new dragon we all need to watch for these days and it’s not on “Game of Thrones.” It’s the Dragon’s Breath Celosia and it’s a monster! I’ve been tremendously successful using celosia in containers and I look forward to this larger-than-life version with red blooms on red foliage. RAWR!

Everyone around me the day that I saw the Salt Lake Limonium knows how bananas I went for this plant. I am planning on using it in mixed combos with succulents. It’s going to be stunning—I can’t wait!

Platinum Beauty Lomandra from the Southern Living Plant Collection reminds me of Lana Turner and her elegant presence. Whether contrasted with dark and moody foliage or in the “on point” trend of monochromatic designs with the new variegated and uber-fragrant Meerlo Lavender from the same line, it’s a winner.

Last, but certainly not least, this little flowering annual deserved much more hoop-la than it got and I was very taken with it. After viewing a sea of petunia and calibrachoa over the week, the Sparklers Petunia was a sure stand out. Small but mighty, this little seed-grown plant from Thompson & Morgan was exactly as billed: “sparkling.” The lavender and purple shades mix of little star-shaped flowers were enchanting and I can see them being a fabulous addition to small-scaled containers for small spaces. GP

Christina Salwitz is an author, garden writer and landscape design hand-holder. She is The Garden Coach and can be reached at personalgardencoach@comcast.net.