It's Never too Early to Plan Your Summer Planters!

It may be chilly right now, but a great way to beat the Winter blues is to look to the future and think of all the gorgeous flowers planters you can plan ahead!

Almost anything can be turned into a planter, like this old two-tiered fountain!

In this post, you'll learn:

• Winter is a great time to plan your Summer planters

• The basic principles of planter design

• Some fantastic plants you can use for your arrangements!

Impatiens, Marigolds, Zinnia, Cosmos, Verbena and Gomphrena make a gorgeous combo.

Keeping planters overflowing with beautiful annuals is a perfect way to add color and interest to your front porch, back patio, or anywhere around the home that you think could use a burst of vibrance. 

The entrance to Bountiful Gardens, Ewing is overflowing with annuals during the growing season.

This lush entrance to our Ewing garden center was designed by Ross, and features thrillers, fillers and spillers—the three core elements of any successful planter. 

Tropical trees and tall annuals like Salvia make incredible thrillers in Summer planters.

We always like to plant in layers, using thrillers to draw the eye up as a focal point, fillers of different colors and textures to catch the eye, and spillers, which will hang over the sides, softening the overall look of your arrangement. 

Dan showing off his favorite Summer planter in Hillsborough.

One of Dan’s favorite planters is potted in a converted fountain and features a great variety of complimentary flowers and foliage to visually feast upon. Some stand-outs include:

Zinnia 'Zahara Double Yellow'

The golden-yellow pops of ‘Zahara Double Yellow’ Zinnia

Verbena 'Fuego Pink'

The striking fuchsia of this ‘Fuego Pink’ Verbena

Dichondra 'Silver Falls'

And the gorgeous tones of the Dichondra ‘Silver Falls’

Joe standing proudly with his favorite Summer planter in Hillsborough

Joe’s favorite Summer planter also happens to be a converted fountain, which lets the imagination run even more wild! 

Zinnias and Cleome compliment each other as thrillers in Summer planters.

Joes advice? Get creative! Your planter is your space to experiment—there are no limits to what you can plant, and so many innovative options to use as vessels for your creation! 

Canna Lily makes a beautiful tropical thriller in Summer planters

Planting with a mixture of Summer and Fall annuals is a great way to seamlessly blend your planters with the seasons. And again, get creative! Swap out your tropical annuals with Fall annuals for endless blooms.  

A grouping of Summer planters featuring center evergreen thrillers

And while you can opt to use only annuals and perennials in your planters, evergreens like Boxwood, Dwarf Alberta Spruce, Inkberry, Dwarf Hinoki False Cypress and more offer year-round focal points when used as thrillers.

Get creative with your thrillers by using a topiary Boxwood!

Simply plant your fillers and spillers around your evergreen centerpiece and voilà! Some great annuals to dress up your evergreen focal point include: 

Dwarf Lantana is must-have in Summer planters, and hummingbirds love them!

Lantana, like this multi-toned Dwarf Lantana

Vinca 'Cora Apricot'

Bright colors like this Vinca ‘Cora Apricot’

Creeping Jenny is a classic spiller in Summer planters

The yellow-chartreuse of Creeping Jenny

You can't go wrong with Petunias for your spiller palette!

And multi-toned petunias!

You can even spread seed to create your own lush beds of Summer wildflowers!

If you don’t want to plant in a pot, you can always spread some seeds or plant some seedlings like we do! 

Summer planters can easily become Winter planters with a little creativity!

And if you live in a colder climate, you can remove spent annuals when frost comes and dress up your evergreen planter with natural decor for the holidays. 

You can put your planters anywhere! Even up on the roof!

When it comes to planter placement, there’s no limit on where you can put them! As long as it gets sun and you can water it, your planter will thrive. 

We always have a huge assortment of hanging baskets for instant color on the porch or patio.

Once Spring finally arrives in the Northeast, you can head over to our New Jersey locations in early March to find a full assortment of Pansies, Ranunculus, Primrose, Bacopa, Stock, Snapdragons and so much more. 

Carefully planted swaths of Lantana, Sweet Alyssum, Lobelia, Gomphrena and more

We hope this inspires you to hop out of those Winter blues and get excited for all the planting possibilities that come with the New Year! 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AoLkh8h3CWU