23 clever container garden ideas for a more versatile outdoor space
First things first when talking about container gardens is to answer the burning question many people might have: what exactly is a container garden? It is, quite simply, a garden where your plants are in pots, planters, repurposed sinks, apple crates, old wine boxes or other forms of container, rather than planted into the ground. There are myriad reasons why you might choose to plant a container garden. As Harriet Rycroft explains in her book ‘Bloom’, one of these reasons is how mobile the pots are, making them the perfect solution to a rental garden where you can't plant anything more permanent. Another benefit is that a container garden doesn't rely on healthy ground soil, meaning you can still plant a beautiful garden even if you have inherited acres of patio or simply depleted soil. Containers can also be used in clever ways, whether to frame a view, doorway, cordon off a seating area or to indicate no-go areas such as parking spaces.
There are ecological benefits too: each different container offers an opportunity for biodiversity. You can plant a range of different plants which attract an equally diverse selection of wildlife. Being able to move the pots allows you a little more freedom with what you plant, since you can ensure the plant receives the ideal conditions for growing. If that is maximum sun exposure, you can position the pot accordingly, likewise shade or shelter are easy to come by if your plant is portable.
What's more, there is a sense of relief at knowing you can't be caught out by one of the many problems that can occur as a result of deeply planted flowers and trees, such as those whose roots can cause problems for insurance by interfering with drains and damp-proofing.
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When it comes to starting your container garden, the RHS has plenty of useful advice on how to get going. The bottom is that there are no rules to container gardening – just grow what you like in any container and away you go. However, by reading on you will see that some of the best examples incorporate a range of containers of various sizes, shapes and heights. This helps to create visual interest, a diverse ecosystem and a bountiful display. Group the pots for a best effect.
Take the ideas from the House & Garden archive below as your inspiration and get creative with container gardening.
Container garden ideas from the pages of House & Garden
Buchanan Studio1/20This playful city garden designed by Buchanan Studio uses pots, wildflowers, grass and stone to create different zones. ‘The beauty of small, city gardens is that you can design it like a room,’ explains Charlotte, one half of the duo.
Christopher Horwood2/20A climbing hydrangea and pots of ferns and herbs soften the north-facing courtyard garden in this Spitalfields townhouse. The woodwork is in ‘Grate Black’ from Farrow & Ball.
Andrew Maybury3/20Gardener and writer Harriet Rycroft likes the flexibility using containers provides: ‘All of the plants on this side of the gate and fence are in pots; I like to create flowerbeds with them, extending the garden into the yard and changing the layout when I feel like it.’
4/20Cook, florist and gardener Charlie Mccormick shares this flat in London with architect and interior designer Ben Pentreath, making the most of the balcony space, and surrounding their seating area with surrounded by clematis and jasmine and lots of pots.
5/20The outdoor spaces in this Kensington Gardens flat are separated by hardy Mediterranean trees, including olives, in Bronzino zinc planters and terracotta pots of herbs.
Owen Gale6/20This small garden, which is enclosed by flint walls was reimagined by Lucy Taylor, who overlaid the cement terrace with reclaimed bricks, and rebuilt the raised beds. She then populated the patio with a variety of potted plants. ‘Pretty much all the garden was replanted but we kept the ancient pear tree.’
Paul Massey7/20Florist Paul Hawkins has created a comfortable country cottage in town at his Chelsea house, filling it with his signature sophisticated arrangements for the festive season. Whilst Paul did not have space for a full garden, however, he nevertheless has added the perfect amount of greenery by way of potted plants and other shrubs out front for a verdant entrance.
Paul Massey8/20At the home of artist Phoebe Dickinson, the antique metal table was found in Tetbury. A mirror on the back wall reflects the light and makes the space feel larger, while a huddle of small and large pots either side of the bench help to delineate this seating area. These can be moved around throughout the day to maximise the plant's exposure to the sun.
Michael Sinclair9/20Butter Wakefield was called in to rework Rita Konig's garden in west London as part of the wider renovation of her home. She has created a magical courtyard space, filled with flowers in containers, and climbing plants that adorn trellises on the walls. The pots neatly frame the garden door, with the steps providing a natural set of plinths.
Ngoc Minh Ngo10/20Jos and Annabel White’s six-storey town house in Manhattan's West Village has a lovely urban garden, which they have softened with the clever use of both pots on the patio and window boxes hanging from the balcony above. These work in tandem to frame the crittal doors and bring a new perspective to the architecture.
Paul Massey11/20This part of fomer Vogue editor Fiona Golfar's garden at her Cornish house is full butts up against the side of the house. She has used mirrors and containers of green foliage to create a lovely spot for outdoor dining. A couple of the pots she has chosen–which are all varying in style–house climbing plants. This is a good way to cover exterior walls when there is a patio or decking outside the house but you want height in your planting.
Owen Gale12/20This small London garden was designed by Piers Beeching, who used a pretty bench as a focal point and added an abundance of potted plants for colour and protection from neighbouring gardens. By using plants of varying height, Piers created a sense of scale in the space that could surely give you some front or back garden ideas.
Eva Nemeth13/20Daisy Garnett’s growing collection of pots on the terrace of her London garden brings seasonal colour and interest to the area for most of the year. In an array of different shapes, sizes and materials, they contain plants ranging from large shrubs to tiny annuals. The large terracotta urn from Mallorca was a gift from her father.
Ngoc Minh Ngo14/20Pots are grouped on the deck of an admittedly rather large Kensington garden by Todd Longstaffe-Gowan, however this corner shows an idea that can be translated to rather more humble spaces. The wall of foliage cocoons the deck area with the pots adding a contrasting note to the decking and greenery that creates the illusion of space and makes the garden appear rather grand.
Kara Rosenlund15/20If you only have a balcony or small outside area, you might consider copying this idea from Anna Spiro's Brisbane house, where she has filled a tiered plant stand with pots of the same size for a uniform, but playful, dash of foliage.
16/20In her London home, designer Bridie Hall has a tiny patio which wondefully evokes a country garden with its verdant planting and a sweet mismatched bistro table and chairs. The planting is all in pots and containers and creates a secluded spot for the dining area.
17/20A container garden should definitely not restrict your inspiration. In his own garden, designer and florist Claus Dalby recreated drew inspiration from the famous garden at Sissinghurst, filling pots with white plants in abundance.
Michael Sinclair18/20This small roof garden in designer Jane Gowers' terraced house in London features potted herbs on rustic shelves, which offer a fantastic way of maximising on space outdoors.
- Butter Wakefield</a> and is filled with apple crates overflowing with knapweed, daisies and wild carrot. There are also planters of orange, salvia and cow parsley. Containers can come in any form, from old sinks to crates–so you don't have to be restricted to pots.","contentType":"photo","credit":"Simon Brown","segmentedSources":{"sm":[{"height":213,"width":320,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/61893e51f6eb732bf13e4463/master/w_320,c_limit/160610_BW_AV_11_0272_HighRes-house-29jun17-Simon-Brown_b.jpg"},{"height":427,"width":640,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/61893e51f6eb732bf13e4463/master/w_640,c_limit/160610_BW_AV_11_0272_HighRes-house-29jun17-Simon-Brown_b.jpg"}],"md":[{"height":427,"width":640,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/61893e51f6eb732bf13e4463/master/w_640,c_limit/160610_BW_AV_11_0272_HighRes-house-29jun17-Simon-Brown_b.jpg"},{"height":853,"width":1280,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/61893e51f6eb732bf13e4463/master/w_1280,c_limit/160610_BW_AV_11_0272_HighRes-house-29jun17-Simon-Brown_b.jpg"}],"lg":[{"height":683,"width":1024,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/61893e51f6eb732bf13e4463/master/w_1024,c_limit/160610_BW_AV_11_0272_HighRes-house-29jun17-Simon-Brown_b.jpg"},{"height":1365,"width":2048,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/61893e51f6eb732bf13e4463/master/w_2048,c_limit/160610_BW_AV_11_0272_HighRes-house-29jun17-Simon-Brown_b.jpg"}],"xl":[{"height":853,"width":1280,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/61893e51f6eb732bf13e4463/master/w_1280,c_limit/160610_BW_AV_11_0272_HighRes-house-29jun17-Simon-Brown_b.jpg"}],"xxl":[{"height":853,"width":1280,"url":"https://media.houseandgarden.co.uk/photos/61893e51f6eb732bf13e4463/master/w_1280,c_limit/160610_BW_AV_11_0272_HighRes-house-29jun17-Simon-Brown_b.jpg"}]}}}" data-testid="GallerySlideWrapper">
Simon Brown19/20This west London garden belongs to designer Butter Wakefield and is filled with apple crates overflowing with knapweed, daisies and wild carrot. There are also planters of orange, salvia and cow parsley. Containers can come in any form, from old sinks to crates–so you don't have to be restricted to pots.
Alexander James20/20The small courtyard at the home of the interior designer Helen Green comprises of simple but elegant touches: a trellis of pretty roses, a feature stone water plinth and plants potted in a variety of vessels, from rustic wooden crates to wicker baskets and pewter milk pails.
