Types of garden pots

Many garden centers and big-box stores carry new lightweight, weather-resistant resin pots in a range of Crayola-like colors—red, blue, chartreuse, or purple, for example—and in many sizes. Pick a pot in a color that enhances your garden, patio furniture or the color of your house. Repeat it and it becomes a theme through the garden.

The size and material of the pot are important, too. Pots smaller than 14 inches wide will need frequent watering, so the bigger the pot, the better. In hot weather, potting mix dries out very quickly in a container that’s less than two feet wide and two feet tall. This will also stress plant roots and a stressed plant is more susceptible to pests and disease.

Terra cotta pots (made from clay) tend to dry out the fastest in our garden while glazed ceramic pots keep the soil moist much longer. However, ceramic pots weigh more and may need storing in winter. When buying pots, consider the weather. If you choose a ceramic pot but live in an area where the temperature dips below freezing, you’ll want to empty the container and store it off the ground in a garage or shed so it doesn’t crack.

Use potting soil … not garden soil

I look for a good, all-purpose soil-less potting mix—one that contains slow-release fertilizer granules. To keep my pots of annuals blooming as long as possible, I also use a water-soluble fertilizer at one quarter the recommended strength every other week when I water. Picking off the spent flowers will also encourage prolonged blooming. If you have to move your pots, using soil-less potting mix makes the job much easier than if you use garden soil in them. Garden soil is typically too heavy for pots, doesn’t allow for good drainage and may contain pests or disease. You can find bags of potting mix at local garden centers and big-box stores.

Monopots vs. Combopots

Next comes the fun part—choosing the plants. Ray Rogers, author of “The Encyclopedia of Container Plants: More than 500 Outstanding Choices for Gardeners.” (Timber Press, 344 pages, $34.95), suggests ‘monopot’ and ‘combopot’ plantings. A monopot contains one type of plant while a combopot includes two or more different plants.

A monopot container filled with one type of coleus or an ornamental grass, such as Pennisetum ‘Prince’ (purple fountain grass), can create a very dramatic and contemporary look. Combopot plantings tend to have a thriller, filler and spiller. The thriller plant is typically upright and vertical, like grass. The filler could be a rounded plant, such as compact zinnias. The spiller, which trails over the edge of the pot, could be a vine.

Although petunias, coleus, sweet potato vines and grasses have been the mainstays of many container gardens, another popular trend is the use of succulents—plants with thick, fleshy stems that enjoy very well-drained soil and warm weather. It’s their leaves that create the visual interest with their rounded shapes and soft blues, greys and greens.

Herbs like basil, cilantro, parsley and oregano also do well in sunny locations and easily grow in pots. I group mine together so I can water them all at once without dragging the hose around.