Extension for Real Life

Four Container Garden Combos

By Chloe Evans

If you love the idea of adding beautiful landscape features to your yard but don’t know where to start, container gardening is an easy way to make a statement and limit costs! To make it even easier, we asked the host of Southern Gardening, Dr. Eddie Smith, to curate a variety of container gardening combos for you to choose from. 

When following the thriller, spiller, and filler combination rules, container gardening can be achieved by anyone. For clarity, a thriller grabs attention with color and/or height. A spiller adds length to the bottom of the arrangement by spilling over the container’s rim. Finally, a filler takes up unused space to add lushness to your arrangement.

You can try out any of these combos: 

Floral Container Garden

Thriller: dwarf canna lily, dwarf banana plant, and papyrus 

Spiller: potato vine, Creeping Jenny, and verbena  

Filler: petunia and calibrachoa 

Fauna Container Garden 

Thriller: Red Star cordyline

Spiller: verbena

Filler: geranium and asparagus fern

Herb Container Garden

Thriller: Crimson King basil 

Spiller: Huntington Carpet rosemary 

Filler: Italian plain leaf parsley 

Succulent Container Garden

Thriller: Aurora sedum

Spiller: Burro's Tail sedum

Filler: Orange Delight sedum

If you want to learn more about plants and gardening, be sure to watch our Southern Gardening segments. They offer great, research-based information!