Annual Flower Planter Designs

I have been having so much fun researching and designing my flower pots over the years. I have been starting more different types of seeds each year and am always finding more varieties to purchase and add to my list for next year! My original plans were altered a little bit, but I still tried to follow the thrillers, fillers, and spillers recipe for planting annual flowers in pots!

Entryway Deck

The first image shows what I planted in the two urn-shaped planters that go at the bottom of the steps. It includes a Geranium, two Sweet Alyssum, and a Vinca Vine. I’m hoping the Geranium will act as both a thriller and filler, while the Sweet Alyssum are fillers and the Vinca Vine will spill out the front. Fun fact… this vinca vine was grown from a rooted cutting from last year’s planters!

The second image shows the arrangement for the four square planters that I have going up the steps behind the urn planters. The Angelonia will act as a thriller while the Bacopa and Petunias (2 plants) as fillers/spillers. Angelonia is one of the plants that I will be trying to grow next year, but I saw it at the greenhouse and had to have it!

We also have a planter that sits in the landscape garden bed just to the right of the entryway steps. This is a very large planter, so it is fun to experiment with filling it with a bunch of different plants! This year, I planted a Geranium toward the back with a Fountain Lobelia on each side, a couple of Sweet Alyssum on the sides, and Petunia with Bacopa in the center in the front. This is another planter that I’m really curious to see how it does! I planted it pretty full!

Back Porch

I tend to fill our back deck with planters because it’s where we spend a lot of time and can enjoy them! The first image has a Dracena spike in the center to act as a thriller, while some Martha Washington (Regal) Geraniums act as fillers and spillers around the outside. I fill this planter really full with three different variations of the pink Martha Washington Geraniums.

The center image is of a Geranium that I planted from seed. It’s on it’s own in a small pot!

The last image (3 pots) has a Rapid Lobelia in the center with Sweet Alyssum (2) and Petunias (2) on the sides. Honestly, There will likely be more planters that find their way to the back deck as I decide where all the seedlings should go… so this isn’t likely an all-inclusive list of what I will have in pots back there. haha!

Camper Lakeside Deck

I love the blue color of these pots! They add so much color to the lakeside deck on the camper! Last year, I planted pink Impatiens in these pots, but they ended up getting way too much sun and dried out quickly. I didn’t realize how sunny the deck was when I originally planted them last year! So this year, I went with a variety of sun loving plants including Angelonia (thriller), Petunia (filler/spiller), and Bacopa (filler, spiller). I’m excited to see this combination as they grow and fill up the pot!

Pioneer Cabin

We started working on the landscaping around the Pioneer Cabin last summer, but never completed it… so I’m hoping to share that with you soon! Maybe we can even get my husband, Caleb, to share a little bit more about this building and the historical significance of it! Basically, Caleb, his grandpa, and his dad restored a building to resemble a cabin from that time period. Its a really neat building… and I’d like to tell you more but honestly history isn’t my thing… so I will try to talk him into helping me out with that this summer 🙂

For now though, I want to share the planters that I designed to sit on the deck of the cabin. The first is planted in a galvanized metal wash bin. I recently remembered that I have two… so I will need to keep that in mind for next year! There are many plants scattered in this wash bin including Angelonia, Marigold, Sweet Alyssum, Rapid Lobelia, and Fountain Lobelia. In the smaller round pots (which we have two of) I planted a Red Petunia, White Petunia, Sweet Alyssum, and Rapid Lobelia. Caleb was hoping for red, white, blue, and maybe yellow plants for the cabin so we will see how it looks all together later this summer! With the landscaping! Oh! I also recently planted (but don’t have a picture of) Moss Roses (Portulaca) in a couple of stump planters his grandpa made for the pioneer cabin deck as well!

Believe it or not my running list of seed to add for next year keeps growing! I might need more grow lights! Haha! What plants do you like to include in your planter arrangements? My parents planted Calibrachoa this year and I NEED to find it for next year! Let me know what else I need in the comments so I can continue to add to my list! 🙂