Container gardening is good for both people with little outdoor space and for those who want to add interest to front porches, back decks, etc. A basic principle for choosing the plants to create a beautiful container display is to have a “thriller,” a “filler,” and a “spiller.” A thriller plant gives the container height, either through foliage or flowers. They are placed in the back, as they are the tallest of the plants. Filler plants are of medium height and fill up the pot. Spiller plants are low height or spill over the edge of the pot. In the above picture from Cheekwood, Mexican feather grass and yucca are thrillers, lavender (?) is a filler, and violas and red sedum are spillers. I also love that most of these plants are perennial or evergreen.
Once you know this general principle for creating beautiful containers you will start to see it everywhere. As I’ve mentioned before, I learn best from examples, so I like seeing how botanical gardens or other gardeners create theirs.
In this example from Cheekwood, the Japanese Maple could be seen as the thriller, the tulips the filler, and the fern the spiller. Or, if you just look at the lower part, the tulips could be considered the height element, pansies the filler, and fern the spiller.
In this one from Moore and Moore Garden Center, an ornamental grass is the thriller, varieties of heuchera are the filler, and ivy is the spiller.
At Myriad Botanical Gardens, a palm tree is the thriller. Ferns might be a thriller in most containers, but compared to a palm tree, it has medium height. The Rex begonia has low height and slightly spills over the edge.
Now, if you want to go to the next level, you can use a similar idea with multiple containers. One container has the highest height, one is a medium height, and one is a low height. In this example from Linda Vater‘s garden, Design-A-Line Cordyline provides the height, Purple Daydream Loropetalum is the medium height, and the low height is Cracked Ice and Twilight heucherella.
Of course, you don’t have to follow this general idea for planting containers, but if you are just starting out, it is a good place to start! What combinations of plants do you like to use for your containers? Do you use annuals, perennials, and/or evergreens? Share your insights in the comments!
