Top Choices For Planting A Full Sun Container Garden

Cultivation of a full sun container garden

For a successful sunny container garden, start by choosing the right containers. Almost anything can be a container for a plant, but make sure everything you use from a pot to an old boot has good drainage. If you are using an unconventional container, make a few holes in the bottom so that the roots of the plants do not get drenched.

Planting A Full Sun Container Garden

Choose a soil that is light and will help with drainage. You can buy prefabricated soil or mix your own, but don’t just use dirt from the garden or courtyard. A simple but successful recipe for container gardening is half peat moss and half perlite.

Keep in mind that to maintain a potted garden you will need to water more frequently than a flower bed. The soil will dry out much faster. Some plants even need to water every day or twice a day.

Ideas for plants in full container

Putting potted plants in the sun, i.e. a spot that gets six hours or more of good sunlight, requires choosing the right varieties. These plants both thrive in full sun and tolerate being in a container. Some excellent choices that I like to include are:

• Millions of bells – The flowers of millions of bells grow and overturn, creating a lovely container display.
• Verbena – For blooms throughout the summer, choose verbena.
• Petunia – This is an annual full sun classic. Numerous new colors and patterns have become available in recent years. Just be aware that petunia needs trimming and deadheading to avoid legs.
• Herbs – Different herbs do well in containers and in the sun. Try lemongrass, lavender, parsley and thyme.
• Coleus – Chosen for its vibrant and varied foliage, you won’t even need flowers in a container with a mix of coleus varieties, many of which are suitable for sunny areas.
• Ornamental herbs – Use these “spikes” to heighten your container’s gardens. Most types of ornamental grasses work well in full sun.
• Dahlia – Dahlias are available in so many varieties, shapes, sizes and colors. They do very well in containers. Since there are so many different sizes, be sure to match the dahlia you choose with a container of the appropriate size.
• Gomphrena – This flower grows like small round pom poms. Gomphrena make large cut flowers and stand up well even after drying.
• Portulaca – If you have a particularly dry climate, this desert plant provides a carpet-like growth covering the surface of the containers. Portulaca tolerates drought and produces beautiful flowers in a range of colors.