An Example of How to Landscape a Yard with Containers

Large Containers

• Placed alone, a single, large container provides a dramatic focal point in a front yard when placed either in a flowerbed or on the front porch. Use a similar pot at the side of the yard to unify the landscape. If a container is brightly colored or unusually shaped, it also works as a design or sculptural element in the yard even if you don't put plants in it.

Groupings

• Groups of containers placed on a deck or at the base of trees adds variety to the pot collection. Use the same or similar containers for groupings, and set the pots at different heights, with some containers on pedestals or on top of empty, overturned flower pots. A row of containers planted with similar plants or shrubs defines a walkway or acts as a boundary between sections of the back yard.

Height

• Plant at least one large container with a large tree or shrub to add drama and height to the middle of a flowerbed, to screen your neighbor's yard or to add interest next to a garden bench. "Orangeola" Japanese maple tree (Acer palmatum "Orangeola") is one option for a container. It grows about 6 feet tall, its branches fall in a weeping habit and its deeply lobed leaves turn orange-red in fall. Japanese maples are hardy in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 5 through 8.

Tropical Plants

• Tropical plants bring bright color and lush foliage to a landscape, and containers allow you to grow tropical plants here and there throughout the yard and take them indoors for winter. Angel's trumpet (Brugmansia suaveolens), also known as maikoa, is among the tropical plant options. It provides 12-inch long, dangling flowers and is hardy year-round outdoors in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 8 through 10 but can be grown outdoors and overwintered indoors anywhere. When the plant is placed on a pedestal or low garden wall, its flowers will put on a show that you can see from anywhere in your yard.

Seasonal Containers

• Planting containers with seasonal plants or filling them with seasonal displays allows you to change their appearance each season. For example, plant spring bulbs during the fall in containers grouped on your deck, and cover the containers' soil with fir boughs and holly branches during winter. Simply remove the boughs when the bulbs begin to emerge in spring. Planting an abundance of lush, summer annuals covers the fading leaves of the spring bulbs.