Best Flowers for Containers

If you live in an apartment or rent a home with a small yard and feel like you have no options when it comes to gardening, think again. Just because you have limited space around your home doesn’t mean you cannot have a flower garden. Some of the best flowers for containers are not only easy to grow but provide you with fragrant blooms all summer long.

Who said that you have to have a large plot of land to garden? There are many options when it comes to container planting, from window boxes and hanging baskets to sizable decorative patio pots.

Not only is it easy to fill these containers with flowers, plants, herbs, and even vegetables, they also draw in all sorts of pollinators such as hummingbirds and butterflies.

Container Gardening with Flowering Plants

There are a variety of flowering plants that grow well in containers, whether you are looking for trailing foliage plants, tall ornamentals, or fragrant flowering annuals.

Luckily, many of the best plants for pots are also readily available during the spring and summer months at just about any garden center or nursery. First, it’s vital to decide which types grow best for your home space and location.

Of course, there are many other plants you can grow in pots, too. However, note that the way to grow cucumbers in containers is going to be a little different than growing flowers because your goal is to have delicious veggies at the end of the growing season.

What are the Benefits of a Container Garden?

Container gardens are a great way to grow your favorite flowers without taking up much yard area. Grow flowers in pots as a benefit if you live in an apartment with a patio or have a small yard with little growing space.

Consider hanging baskets along your front porch, place window boxes in front of your windows, or fill your patio with potted plants.

Even if you have a larger garden space, adding plants in containers provides a little diversity to the space.

Which Plants Grow Best in Pots?

Annuals such as marigolds and geraniums are the best for growing in containers, but there are a variety of perennials that grow perfectly in a pot as well. The main thing to consider when choosing plants for pots is the size and location of the container.

Full sun plants that do not grow large such as petunias and pansies are ideal for a window box on the south side of your home. On the other hand, shade-loving hostas grow best in pots placed in a sun-dappled area of the patio.

Which Containers Should I use for My Flowers?

The standard terra cotta pot is probably the first thing to come to mind when considering planting flowers in pots, but there are many different types of containers for gardening.

It all comes down to the kind of space you have around your home. Place various sized pots on a patio, porch, or trellis, hang baskets from a tree or awning, and position flower boxes in front of windows.

Are Potted Flowers Hard to Maintain?

Potted flowers and plants are nearly effortless to maintain. There are only a few necessary steps to take to ensure they grow healthy and beautiful. When choosing your containers, make sure they have adequate drainage holes to prevent the soil from becoming waterlogged and use a nutrient-rich potting soil.

Remove faded or dead flowers with regular deadheading to encourage continual flower production. Provide your plants with proper watering and occasional plant food, and you’re good to go.

To stop squirrels from digging in your potted plants, add a bit of sprinkled cayenne pepper over the top. The squirrels will be deterred by the smell.

If you have a problem with cat poop in garden beds, using containers for planting often helps. Most adult cats are too big to try to use a pot for a litter box unless the planter is quite large. Deter them from your pots and garden soil by occasionally spritzing the areas with a water and peppermint essential oil mixture.

Begonias (Begonia x semperflorens-cultorum)

These easy to grow annuals for containers come in a variety of types with many colors of foliage from maroon to green. It produces lush, delicate flowers in hues of yellow, white, orange, and pink from spring through fall.

Begonias prefer even moisture through regular watering and cannot tolerate strong sunlight or freezing temperatures. They are low maintenance and reach a height of 6 inches to 3 feet with a width of up to 12 inches, depending on the variety.

Angelonia (Angelonia Angustifolia) – Best Flowers for Containers with Continuous Blooms

Also known as the summer snapdragon, this tender annual flower provides continuous blooms in your garden from spring through fall in shades of purple, blue, pink, red, and white flowers.

This drought tolerant plant is low maintenance and thrives in sunny locations of the home. Angelonia grows to a height of 1 to 3 feet with a width of 1 to 2 feet. It is a cool-weather annual that tends to fade during the hottest time of the summer.

Impatiens (Impatiens walleriana)

This popular annual flower produces blooms in pastels and vibrant shades of red, orange, blue, purple, pink, white, and yellow from spring through summer. Impatiens looks stunning, whether grown in a hanging basket or a mixed planter.

These flowers thrive best in part to full shade and enjoy well-drained potting soil. They are low maintenance and require no deadheading to flourish. As favorite potted shade flowers, impatiens grows to a height and width of 1 to 3 feet, and quickly fills a pot with ease.

Hostas (hosta) – Potted Plant with Lush Foliage

Hosta is grown by many gardeners for its ability to thrive in the shade. Also called plantain lilies, this plant’s foliage comes in a variety of sizes, shapes, and colors, from blue/green to chartreuse/gold. It produces tall and petite stemmed white, lavender, or pink flowers during the summer months.

These low maintenance perennials are drought tolerant and thrive in part to full shade areas of zones 3 through 9. They grow 6 inches to 3 feet in height with a spread of up to 8 feet, depending on the variety.

Creeping Jenny (Lysimachia nummularia)

Creeping Jenny is a sedum creeper that produces bright yellow flowers during the summer months. While this fast-growing plant tends to take over a garden when left on its own, it makes an excellent flowering creeper for containers with its cascading foliage.

You can also use creeping Jenny as filler plants for hanging baskets that contain other flowers that may have a more upright stalk or stem.

This perennial plant enjoys well-drained soil in sunny locations and thrives in zones 3 through 9. Overwinter creeping Jenny by placing the pot in an unheated garage or shed.

Petunias (Petunia × atkinsiana) – Container Flower with Summer Long Blooms

This popular annual is well known for its assortment of fragrant and colorful blooms that range from purple, blue, and red, to white, pink, and yellow. It produces flowers from spring through fall and comes in multiflora and grandiflora varieties.

Petunias are deer resistant and low maintenance and attract hummingbirds with their strong scented flowers. They prefer sunny locations and reach an average height of 1 foot with a spread of up to 3 feet.

Coral Bells (Heuchera)

Coral bells are best known for their striking foliage, but they also produce red, white, pink, and coral flowers in the spring and summer. This plant grows in a round mound, which makes it appealing as a centerpiece in any container.

The heuchera plant has lobe-shaped evergreen leaves in an assortment of colors. Coral bells grow best in hardiness zones 4 through 8 and prefer full sun to part shade. It has medium water requirements and thrives in consistently moist soil.

Zinnias (Zinnia Elegans) – Easy to Grow Container Flowers

Zinnias are a bright and colorful flower that requires minimal care. They have lance-shaped leaves with rounded flowers in bold colors ranging from purple, green, and red to yellow, orange, and pink.

These annuals produce flowers from spring through fall and reach a height of 8 inches to 4 feet tall, depending on the variety. They produce the most blooms when planted in a container on the sunny side of the home.

Gerbera Daisies (Gerbera jamesonii)

This cheerful flower produces tall and vibrant daisy-style blooms in shades of purple, red, orange, yellow, white, and pink in summer through fall. Not only do Gerbera daisies look stunning in a large pot, but they also make an excellent cut flower for the home.

These flowers grow 1 to 3 feet tall with a width of up to 16 inches. They prefer a sunny area, are low maintenance, and attract birds. They are an annual flower that is grown as a perennial in zones 10 and 11.

Million Bells (Calibrachoa) – Spiller Plant with Prolific Blooms

This plant is called million bells for a reason. It produces an endless amount of tiny petunia-like flowers in shades ranging from purple, red, and blue to pink, white, and yellow from summer through fall.

The trailing habit of this annual flower makes it an ideal candidate for a hanging basket or tall patio pot. It thrives in full sun and fills a container at a fantastic rate with its cascading, colorful flowers.

Verbena (Verbena Officinalis)

This flowering annual has a long blooming time and produces copious white, lavender, pink, red, blue, and purple blooms all summer long and into the fall. Verbena loves well-drained soil and rewards you with clusters of trailing flowers in a window box or hanging basket.

It thrives in sunny locations but is finicky during hot and humid days of summer. This versatile flower is deer resistant and drought tolerant but enjoys a good watering once a week.

Pansies (Viola tricolor var. hortensis) – Cool Weather Container Flower

This popular cool-weather annual has heart-shaped, overlapping petals with striking splashes of color with center markings that have a face-like appearance. The blooms range in shades of white, yellow, purple, and blue in spring and fall.

Pansies prefer partial to full sun and fill containers with colorful cheer early in the growing season. They are a low growing flower that reaches a height and width of up to 12 inches, making them ideal for filling space in a planter.

Coleus (Plectranthus scutellarioides)

Coleus is best known for its beautifully colored foliage, and it looks stunning surrounding tall flowers in a container. The leaves range in variegated colors of green, purple, and burgundy and are fringed, scalloped, or toothed.

This shade-loving plant is low maintenance and is even grown as a houseplant when brought indoors before the first frost. It grows to an average height and width of 3 feet, depending on the variety.

Dianthus (Dianthus caryophyllus) – Attractive Container Plant with Fragrant Flowers

This cottage-style flower is loved for its blue-green foliage and dainty, starry flowers. The blooms are often pink but sometimes come in shades of purple, red, white, and yellow. The petals of the flower have a fringe appearance with a spicy fragrance

This perennial flower thrives in zones 3 through 9 and enjoys part to full sun. It is low maintenance, deer resistant, and drought-tolerant, making it a great choice for container gardening.

It’s amazing how flowers and plants transform a patio or yard from something that appears dull and boring into something vibrant and lush. Filling well-placed window boxes, hanging baskets, and ornate pots with fragrant flowers, variegated foliage, and colorful, trailing houseplants create an atmosphere of tranquility and natural harmony for both you and pollinators to enjoy.

We hope that you plant some of the best flowers for containers around your home and enjoy their natural beauty, and we’d love it if you’d share our container flower list and gardening tips with your family and friends on Facebook and Pinterest.