Container gardening is a great hobby that people of all ages can enjoy. It's an excellent way to get creative with your garden and make it look beautiful. Perennials are a great choice for container gardening because they come back every year. They are also easy to maintain and bring colorful flowers and decorative foliage to your garden all season long.

Perennials are a great choice for containers because they offer the following benefits:

• Perennials are plants that come back every year. They can be planted in containers on your balcony, rooftop, or in your garden.
• There are many perennial flowers that are fragrant. Having fragrant flowers can put you in a better mood, make your environment more pleasant and help you relax. They also attract pollinators and help to deter pests and insects from your garden.  This is especially helpful if you grow your own food.
• There are many perennial plants that have interesting foliage.  Flowers are not always going to be in bloom, so if you have interesting foliage the container can still look wonderful.
• Perennials in a container can also allow you to grow plants you normally can’t grow because of the type of soil you have in your garden. For instance, if your soil is clay, you can now grow perennials that prefer a lighter soil.
• When it comes to planting in the shade you will find there are a greater variety of shade perennials, so you have more options to try.

Selecting A Container

It is a good idea to coordinate the pot with the location it is going to be placed.  Take into consideration the pot type and color.  If you want the pot to be a focal point in your garden pick a bright color that contrasts with the plants, you are growing. An example would be placing a yellow flowering plant in a bright blue container.

The rule is the bigger the pot the better. This is because perennials have larger root systems, so they need more space to grow.  Also, a larger pot is better for overwintering.

When it comes to selecting the container make sure you select one that has drainage holes.  Put a screen over the drainage holes, so the soil does not fall out of the bottom of the pot.  You might also want to put some filler at the bottom of the pots such as pea gravel or broken pottery. This will make the container a little lighter and easier to move.

Good potting soil is needed for your containers.  Make sure when you pick up the bag of soil that is it lighter than topsoil. There are some potting soils that have fertilizer already in them. This might be a good option if you don’t want to bother with fertilizing and you may also save some money.

Watering Containers

Containers typically are watered more often than in-ground plants. Some of them might need to be watered daily.  Also, the type of container you use will have an effect on how often you water.  When watering, it is a good idea to let a small amount of the water flush through the pot, so the plant gets a good drink. Morning is the best time to water. This allows the plants to dry out before the evening and helps prevent diseases. It is important to do this on a regular basis as the plants will have difficulty if they dry out between waterings.

Plant Selection

When it comes to plant selections some breeders have put together perennial combinations that work well together. Some examples are below. You can buy these separately or you might find them in a garden center available together.  Proven Winners has also compiled a list of perennials recommended for containers. 

Passion For Pompeii

This perennial combo uses rich tones from the warm end of the rainbow.

Echinacea Cheyenne Spirit

Lobelia Starship™ Scarlet

Sydney Sparkler

Two award winners share the spotlight in this stunning mixture.

Echinacea PowWow® Wild Berry

Gaura Sparkle White

Amazon Rain Forest

Tone-on-tone green and silver with tons of texture!

Silver Falls Dichondra

Blue Arrows ColorGrass® Juncus

Stachys byzantina Silver Carpet

Easy Breezy

This container lasts long into the later summer months. It is an excellent way to add movement to your garden. The grass and gaillardia sway with the wind to catch the light.

Gaillardia x grandiflora Fanfare

Grass Phalaris Strawberries & Cream

Sedum rupestre Angelina

Photos courtesy of Ball Seed