Do you guys have any recommendations for blogs/websites to get inspiration for really designer-looking mixed container plantings? I'm not talking the average hanging basket or a plant geek's/hoarder's pots stuffed full of whatever happened to fit. I can do both of those, especially the latter. I mean high-end, artistic, designer-looking plantings using color and texture effectively. I'm mostly doing container plantings this year due to moving so I'm hoping to up my game.

So far, I've been inspired by some of the containers on this blog:

http://www.deborahsilver.com/b...

These Pamela Crawford containers look fun, too. Almost Seussical!

http://thedailysouth.southernl...

Does anyone have any favorite places for inspiration?

Thanks!
Danita


I saw this nice little combo at Smith-Gilbert Gardens.

A nursery in Woodburn, Oregon does some really amazing arrangements. I usually go there in the spring and fall to get ideas.

If you ever have the chance, some photos would be wonderful!
I usually forget to take photos because my hands and mind are full of PLANTS!

It's handy on such occasions to have my Mom along because she is a photographer and her hands are always full of camera! I can just point at something, ask her to photograph it, and get a professional shot. My version of a point-and-shoot camera.

Wow, plant shopping with your very own camera crew. What a treat that would be.

That is a beautiful sight, what fantastic containers. I went to the Chicago area just after Christmas last year and some of the winter container arrangements were like those in the site.

It is hard to find fantastic ideas for containers, I buy so many magazines and books on container gardening, just disappointing some times.

Will keep an eye on this thread. My 2 cents, go with foliage variegation and less flowers. Anyway that's what appeals to me.

I have a Pinterest board with container ideas. It includes other stuff too, but a lot of container plantings.
https://www.pinterest.com/gold...

Great board Chris!

Thanks Bev!

Julia, I agree, Silver's winter container arrangements are really fun. She also has some really nice summer containers. She has a few combos in cool pink and orange that make me cringe a bit, but, overall, I like her work a lot. Of course, being able to afford some of those amazing containers goes a long way to making an artful display.

One problem that I have with so many of the photos of containers in magazines and books is that they look like someone has just planted them up the week before. You don't see how the plants will compete with one another and grow and weave together. It gives you no real idea of how a combination will look long term.

Chris, the few pics that I could see were lovely, but I don't have an account so they won't let me see more.
grumble, grumble, grumble...

Chris, thank you for the link.

Danita said:
One problem that I have with so many of the photos of containers in magazines and books is that they look like someone has just planted them up the week before. You don't see how the plants will compete with one another and grow and weave together. It gives you no real idea of how a combination will look long term.

I agree Danita, sometimes the containers look so nice and full, but you don't know when they were planted. It'd be nice to see some time-lapse pictures, that show the containers from start to finish, and how long they lasted before they have to be re-done.

Chris, very nice Pinterest board. I hope you don't mind that I followed it

@IbisFla I'm happy that you did! There are unlimited ideas on Pinterest, aren't there?

Thank you, Ibis. I'm jumping in here because I've always wondered about those fabulous displays in mags and online - some of the plants in those lush overfilled containers could not possibly work together - they've got full sun and shade plants in the same container along with stuff that's so aggressive you wonder how anything else can live there with it. I've speculated that all these plants are grown separately in their own greenhouse environments and cached together in their photo op containers only for the purpose of the photo. So I'm a little bit cynical, that's true. Then I think about all that growth having to be re-potted at the end of the season. Maybe if I get to where I can try some of those fabulous arrangements myself I won't be so cynical - you never really know what's its like until you do it yourself. Therefore, I must do it myself...