Careful and considered placement can add a sense of coherence to a garden


I use containers as major structural elements to help create the framework of the garden, or as visual cues to lead the eye along a path or toward a destination. I also place them to screen unsightly views. Patios, decks, and entryways become lush, intimate spaces when I embellish them with containers. And I often add containers to a bed or border to introduce a new color or shape.


Enhance design with proper placement

Plants in containers visually link the arbor to its horizontal surroundings.
A pot at the convergence of paths becomes a focal point.

Placing a pot where several sight lines or pathways converge (above right) draws the eye forward and pulls you into the garden. The pot becomes a focal point, acting as a major structural element of the design.


Direct traffic and mark transitions

Pots at the corner of the terrace signal the transition from porch to walkway.



Hide unwanted views

Trellised container vines make a blank space more interesting.
Copper trellises in pots form the framework for a display of flowers and foliage.

In my garden, the terrace butts right up to the north side of the house, presenting an unattractive, looming, blank façade to the garden. To make the blank wall more interesting, I mounted two wirework hayracks with attached trellises onto the wall at window height and planted annual vines to scramble up the wall and trailing fuchsias and impatiens to spill over the sides (below left). In this way I was able to transform an uninteresting space using color and fragrance. On the other terrace, three rectangular terra-cotta pots sit against the wall of the house (below right). A handcrafted copper trellis in each pot supports various vines as they scramble upward, clothing the wall with flowers and foliage.


Create a vignette

Annuals in a pot liven up a garden border.

I often use pots to add height or color to a garden bed where these elements are missing. In one garden (right), I placed a pot of annuals in a border when a shot of color was needed. I like the versatility of switching pots in and out of beds and the ability to change the feel of the garden by manipulating small vignettes on a moment's notice. At a friend's garden, a cobalt-blue pot placed in a dark spot in a bed draws your eye in and makes the space seem larger while it unites the garden and architecture by echoing the color of the nearby house (below).

A blue pot draws the eye in and makes the space seem larger, while echoing the color of the nearby house.

Adorn an empty space

Pots of annuals and perennials on a deck provide visual interest, color, and fragrance throughout the summer.


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