Part Shade Spring Color Container
Brighten your garden with spring blooms that will offer blooms in part sun to part shade.
D.I.Y. Part Shade Spring Color Container
These fabulous plants are among our favorites and pair beautifully for a soothing monochromatic display. These perennials will look their best when deadheaded to encourage more flowers, and fed with a fertilizer labeled to encourage more blooms. This container is meant to be a temporary feature in the garden; in fall, these plants can be separated and planted into the garden or overwintered indoors. If you want an arrangement that lasts for many years, consider choosing a larger planter than what is used below.
Ingredients
- 4 inch Calla Lily Thriller
- 4 inch Fuchsia Filler
- 4 inch Tropical Sunpatien Filler
- 4 inch Hypoestes 'Polka Dot Plant' Spiller
- Pot and Saucer about 12 inches or more
- Keeper Stopper Pot Screens
- Dr. Earth 'Pot of Gold' All-Purpose Potting Soil
- Dr. Earth Fertilizer 'Flower Girl' or 'Total Advantage'
Shopping Tips
- We recommend choosing your pot first for this project, get inspired by the unique textures and finishes. We like the rich charcoal color which beautifully showcases jewel tones of the flowers and foliage.
- Don't be afraid to scale up this project, or choose an unconventional pot shape (square, oval, etc.) and arrange the plants in a unique way. Whether in containers or in flower-beds, plants look best in odd-number quantities, this will give your project a more natural appearance.
- It's okay to swap out plants based on your preferences or seasonal availability. You can choose plants with the uniform flower-color for a more energizing feel, or foliage in similar hues for a restful appearance when plants aren't blooming.
Planting Steps
1. Prepare the Pot
Remove tags from your pot and saucer, and place a 'Keeper Stopper' inside over the drainage hole; If it doesn't quite fit, feel free to trim the screen down and adhere with a bit of tape. This screen will help soil stay in the pot and keep bugs out!
2. Start with Soil
Fill the pot with a generous layer of potting soil, about 2/3 full. Add in your Dr. Earth granular fertilizer and work into the top layer of soil, this will provide the plants easy access to nutrients at the roots. Apply according to the instructions on the package, based on the size of your container.
3. Thriller Time
Gently, loosen the excess soil around the root ball of your thriller plant and place it against one side of your pot. Make the most of your container by planting at a slight angle, so that plants reach outward, allowing for more room to grow, and a more impressive appearance. Then gently fill the cracks between the pot and root-ball with soil.
4. Fun with Fillers
Imagine how the plants will work together, and whether this arrangement will have a 'backside' or will be viewed from all angles. Turn the plants carefully, until you are satisfied with the arrangements. It's okay to put everything in place and change your mind, plants will tolerate being handled.
5. Spiller Spot
Place your spiller in the open spot, making sure that the foliage faces outward from the center of the pot, ready to cascade over the side. Now's the time to backfill any open spots with soil, using a finger to make sure soil fills any open air pockets.
6. Final touch
Finally, be sure to hydrate your arrangement deeply, water once until water runs out of the bottom of the container and repeat. Display in a full sun to part sun area of your garden. Be sure to deadhead spent blooms to encourage more flowers and fuller growth.
Meet the Plants
Calla Lily
Graceful trumpet shaped flowers are a lovely addition in part sun to part shade. This perennial makes a great cut flower, blooming from spring through early summer. Available in a rainbow of colors from white, yellow, orange, pink, and purple.
Fuchsia
Stunning blooms hang from stems, and dance like ballerinas in the breeze. Available multicolored blooms in combinations of violet, pink, red, and white. Choose from upright or trailing varieties, perfect in hanging baskets or elevated planters, in part to full shade.
SunPatiens
Enjoy
tropical color now until mid-fall, this plant is versatile in the garden, tolerates
heat and humidity. Great in pots or in
the ground, growing two feet tall & wide in full sun to full shade.
Hypoestes 'Polka Dot Plant'
Named for spotted leaves that range from speckled to nearly fully white, pink, or red. Best in bright, indirect light indoors or part shade outdoors. Grows to 18 inches tall and 10 inches wide.
