1. Play with Contrast
"Texture is the magic trick," Greayer says. "If a garden looks good in a black-and-white photo, you're onto something." This arrangement is a case in point: While it has a cohesive pink-and-green palette, the real story is one of interesting shapes and textures. The contrasts in form between plants like leafy 'Dark Ruffles' coleus, strappy New Zealand flax, and pompom-shaped dahlias let each player in the scene stand out.
2. Bring the Inside Out
Come summer, Greayer likes to give her houseplants a vacation outdoors, where she incorporates them into container arrangements. In one grouping, big-leaf elephant ears, specimen begonias, and amaryllises (whose deep green foliage looks great even without flowers) mingle with outdoor plants like Hakone grass, coral bells, and ferns.
3. Blend In
Although container groupings can be statement-making, sometimes they work best as an easygoing complement to your in-ground plantings. "I wanted to augment and build off the existing color scheme," Greayer says of the potted plants along the stairs here. Pots hold trailing purple sweet potato vine, bushy yellow 'Rock 'N Low' sedum, and a tall citronella-scented geranium that fit right in with the yellow wax bells and black-eyed Susans on the other side of the low stone wall.
Planting a container garden allows you to focus, edit, and be creative without the pressure of an in-ground garden.
4. Be Flexible
Try not to get too attached to any element in your arrangement. Move pots around and swap things out as the seasons change or if something just isn't working well. "Don't be afraid to yank a pot out and put it behind the shed for next year," Greayer says.
5. Pick a Theme
Choose a recurring element—a color, say, or a material—and start collecting pots and plants. In this vignette, terra cotta pots of different sizes and shades tie together an eclectic group of yellow-and-purple plants that includes agave, coreopsis, Russian sage, and dwarf morning glory. For pots, don't limit yourself to garden centers and nurseries. Estate sales, thrift shops, online marketplaces, and discount stores can be sources of hidden gems at bargain prices.
6. Lead the Eye
If there's an area in your garden that doesn't shine—a collapsing shed, an old chicken coop, or an ivy-covered slope—consider placing a large arrangement of containers nearby to take the focus away from it. "It's a great way to break up a view and distract," Greayer says.
You don't need to buy plants solely for potting up. Consider containers a starting point for plants that may end up in the ground elsewhere in the garden.
