Container Gardening Complete

Job:06-700309 Title: CPS - Container Gardening Complete

700309 - ContainerGardens_001-272_FINAL.indd 64 5/24/17 11:04 AM
Job:06-700309 Title: CPS - Container Gardening Complete
Job:06-700309 Title: CPS - Container Gardening Complete

700309 - ContainerGardens_001-272_FINAL.indd 65 6/5/17 2:49 PM

64 chapter 2

length of the pot. However, remember that

balance does not necessarily mean symmetry. You

don’t have to use identical plants to have good

balance; just select ones that balance each other

in terms of visual weight.

Here are five simple design principles to help

you create well-designed plant combinations

for your containers, using a combination of

proportion, focal point, and balance.

Thriller, Filler, and Spiller Style

There’s an expression that’s frequently used

among container gardeners: “Every container

needs a thriller, a filler, and a spiller.” This

concept advises that three heights of plants

should be used to fill out a container on every

available plane, while still maintaining balance

and a proper pot-to-plant proportion. This is a

particularly valuable design plan for containers

that are meant to be viewed from all sides. By

using this principle, you ensure there are no “bald

spots” in your design and that it will look good

from any direction.

First, a single “thriller” plant is selected for the

center of the pot—typically, a large plant with

bold foliage, interesting flowers, or some other

eye-catching feature to serve as a focal point. Its

mature height should fit within the parameters

of the rule of thirds mentioned above to keep

the design well proportioned. Nurseries are filled

with many options for a thriller plant; look for

unique plants that draw your eye and stand out

from the crowd.

Once you’ve selected your thriller plant,

look for “filler” plants to accent it. These plants

are positioned around the thriller, filling in the

space around it. Their mature height should be

between^1 ⁄^2 and^3 ⁄^4 of the height of the thriller

feature. Depending on the size of the pot, use

anywhere from three to seven filler plants. They

can all be the same species, or you can mix two

or three different plants into this layer. But avoid

falling into the “I-must-have-one-of-everything”

trap, because this layer becomes distracting if

you include too many different plants. Filler

Containers designed in the thriller, filler, and spiller

style utilize three dierent sizes of plants to create a

container that can be viewed from all sides.

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Designing and Planting Your Containers 65

plants can be flowering or foliage plants, or a

mixture of the two. There are hundreds of plants

that make good fillers for container plantings for

both sun and shade.

Finally, the spiller plants are placed around the

outer edge of the container. These plants cascade

over the edge of the pot, draping it with colorful

flowers or interesting foliage. Spillers soften

the container and give it a sense of lushness. I

often use three different spiller plants for each

container—two flowering and one selected for its

interesting foliage. Avoid selecting too many, or

the arrangement becomes distracting.

No matter which types of plants you choose

to fill each layer, keep the scale appropriate to

the size of the container, and keep the plants

balanced vertically and horizontally. Fill the

container with a mixture of color, texture, and

form, without going overboard. Remember, don’t

just select plants for their flowers—foliage texture

and plant form play an important role in good

container garden design.

Surround the thriller plant in your container with mid-

height filler plants, such as the golden shrimp plant

(Pachystachys lutea) and purple Angelonia (Angelonia

angustifolia) in this pot.

Spiller plants are those that cascade over the edge of

the pot to soften the edge. Here, silver falls (Dichondra

argentea ‘Silver Falls’), creeps over the top edge of a

glazed ceramic container.

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