45 Container Garden Ideas: Creative Ways to Grow Plants in Small Spaces

If you’re looking to add some greenery to your outdoor space but don’t have a lot of room, container gardening is a great option.

Container gardens are perfect for small balconies, patios, and even windowsills.

Plus, they’re easy to maintain and can add a pop of color to any area.

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There are endless container garden ideas to choose from, depending on your style and space.

You can create a herb garden for your kitchen, a succulent garden for your desk, or a colorful flower garden for your front porch. The possibilities are endless!

Not only are container gardens functional, but they can also serve as a decorative element to enhance the look of your space.

Whether you’re a seasoned gardener or just starting out, container gardening is a fun and rewarding hobby.

With a little creativity and some basic knowledge, you can create a beautiful and thriving garden in no time.

So, let’s explore some container garden ideas to inspire your next gardening project!

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Cosmos in Concrete Container Garden

Pin @ladylandscape / Instagram

These pink and white cosmos make a lovely container garden with its charming pastel hues.

The contrast between the flowers and the clean lines of the rectangular concrete planter creates an intriguing statement.

The best part is that Cosmos are easy to grow and require minimal pruning.

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Modern White Container Garden

Pin @potted_pleasures / Instagram

Create a modern look with your container garden by going with white flowers that look charming when placed among some greenery.

In this garden, iris, Dipladenia, euphorbia, dichondra, and the heat-hardy calibrachoa have been added, creating an eye-catching display.

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Solar Fountain Plants

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A Piece of Rainbow

You can feature a pond and water plants with a solar fountain container garden. 

A Piece of Rainbow has added a variety of them including baby tut, taro, canna lily, Siberian iris, and loriope.

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Indoor Herbs

Pin A Beautiful Mess

Instead of putting everything in one container, consider using multiple containers like A Beautiful Mess did for their indoor herb garden.

Here, mint, oregano, rosemary, basil, thyme, and chives have been put in their individual colored containers so they can easily be told apart.

To go the extra mile, consider making DIY clay plant labels to bring a final rustic touch.

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Succulent Centerpiece

Pin Chatfield Court

You can DIY your succulent garden using just about any vessel; in this case, it’s a galvanized bucket. 

Chatfield Court chose four types of succulents for her container garden and used them as a centerpiece on her dining room table.

It’s an easy project that you can put anywhere to bring some greenery.

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Orange Container Garden

Pin @pottedcharm / Instagram

This container garden embraces the warm months of summer.

Red flowers and plants come together in a stunning combination that plays off the slight color differences.

It’s placed front and center by the front door so everyone who visits has the joy of seeing it.

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Mixed Color Combo in Container Garden

Pin @terasgardens / Instagram

An expert container garden idea is to choose a color combination where the colors can play off one another.

This striking container garden features red, purple, and white flowers with some trailing greenery.

A hayrack planter makes a lovely window box that can be sat in the shade or sun.

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Bold Blooms

Pin Proven Winners

Don’t be afraid to choose some big and bold blooms for your container gardens.

Here’s a group of them from Proven Winners that will take your breath away.

They’re filled with several types of hydrangeas in various sizes and styles of pots, so there are tons of textures.

Put them together in groups and they’ll brighten up the whole outside area.

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Indoor Cactus in a Container Garden

Pin Bricks ‘n Blooms

Add a statement to your indoor area with a pretty Christmas cactus that will brighten your mood even in the dead of winter. 

Bricks ‘n Blooms has done just this, by growing it inside a pot that has been placed on the floor near a window.

Give it as a gift or keep it for yourself, so you can enjoy it all year long.

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Usable Flowers

Pin Sharon Palmer, MSFS, RDN

Get the best of both worlds with this container garden idea from Sharon Palmer.

She’s planted a garden of edible flowers that look beautiful and can add a special touch to any dish.

Here, she’s chosen nasturtium, calendula, and lavender and placed them in a lovely blue and white oval container.

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Container Garden With Front Porch Grouping

Pin Wit and Delight

Create a group of container gardens on your front porch to wow your visitors and neighbors.

Use various pots and create a space where you’ll want to spend time. 

Wit and Delight have used mid-height plants and spillers such as ferns, hydrangeas, flowering gardenias, Diplandia, geraniums, and begonias.

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Log Planters With Pansies

Pin The Spruce / Kerry Michaels

These fast-growing pansies come in all different dreamy colors and are a wonderful choice for late-season container gardens.

Here, their understated beauty is paired with a planter that’s been made out of a log.

The top of the log has been hollowed out, giving them a place to grow.

It makes for an inexpensive and quite beautiful planter that you’ll be proud to put on display.

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Raised Garden Beds

Pin The Spruce / Jacob Fox

A popular type of container garden is a raised garden bed.

These gardens are elevated off the ground and surrounded by an enclosure made out of wood, rocks, plastic, or another material.

You can think of it as a big container garden that can hold numerous vegetables or a flower garden.

This one holds a wide variety of foliage and flowers, keeping taller plants towards the center.

Make sure to choose a container garden that has good specs like proper drainage and size.

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Herb Transporter

Pin Unsophisticook

If you’re looking for a simple way to have your plants thrive indoors and outdoors, here’s a container garden idea from Unsophisticook that you’ll want to try.

You can have a transportable herb garden grown in a utensil caddy in just ten minutes.

Choose plants like aromatic rosemary, sage, oregano, parsley, and thyme.

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Step-By-Step Ladder Container Garden

Pin @darrrenlakin2 / Instagram

There are unique ways to display container gardens, especially if they’re in smaller pots.

Place them on the steps of a ladder to create a collection that’s not only stunning but practical since you’re saving space by going vertical.

A collection of small flowers is grown in these pots, fitting three to each step.

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Window Box Flowers

Pin My Family Thyme

Display your container garden with style by putting up some window boxes.

These can be filled with flowers, which are perfect for displaying any spring or summer blooms.Low trailers like verbena, petunias, and impatiens fill these boxes grown by My Family Thyme.

When the weather gets cooler, they can all be replaced by flowers that love the fall weather.

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Tomatoes in Container Garden

Pin Garden Betty

Tomatoes can easily be grown in containers, and they look even better when placed together in groups.

Any container will do and you can use tomato stacks to help them grow taller.

It’s a wonderful solution for smaller spaces that lack room for an in-ground tomato garden.

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Container Cacti

Pin A Beautiful Mess

Here’s a container garden idea from A Beautiful Mess that has you going a little untraditional by using cacti.

You’ll want to create an environment that the cacti love by adding rocks and soil.

Feel free to mix in some easy-to-grown succulents and aloe, they’ll thrive here as well.

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Annual Container Garden

Pin My Family Thyme

My Family Thyme has a container garden idea that fills a pot full of flowers.

This group of annuals includes stock, white verbena, and yellow wave petunias.

There are step-by-step directions included for creating a look just like this one or you can use it as a starting point to create your own.

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Wooden Vertical Garden

Pin Casa Watkins Living

Casa Watkins Living has filled this home full of container gardens that have been planted with green plants and trees.

They hang on the wall, sit on the counters, and take up some floor space.

The plants that are hung on the wall instantly elevate the home without taking up too much space.

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Hanging Ferns

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Funky Junk Interiors

A fern can also look great in a container garden.

This one from Funky Junk Interiors is in a hanging planter that shows it off.

There are many different types of ferns, and each one is special in its own way.

Add one or a collection of them to your next container garden for a lush touch.

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Rustic Violas in Containers

Pin @the_little_end_cottage / Instagram

Here’s a pretty container garden that consists of various violas in their pots which are all kept uniform for a cohesive look.

Other gardening accessories are also stored on the wooden shelves for easy reach.

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Mixed Spring Garden

Pin @ginas_flower_garden / Instagram

Embrace the colors of spring with this gorgeous mixed spring garden that includes tulips, anemones, fuchsia, geraniums, and violas in colors of pink, blue, and purple.

The planter is made from a free pallet and used compost bags, making it easy on the wallet and easy to put together.

Experiment with layering various flower types and grouping them to make an eye-catching statement.

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Aged Terracotta Pots

Pin @lauras_flowers / Instagram

This colorful array of flowers has been planted in individual terracotta pots that have been aged.

They’re grouped on an outside table, giving them a place to sit out in the yard to be enjoyed.

Although there’s a mixed group of flowers, all of the hues follow a similar color palette which is why it looks cohesive and elegant.

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Early Spring Planters

Pin @thiistlecontainers / Instagram

Early spring is a wonderful time to put together a container garden.

This one includes hellebores and pussy willow which are perfect for spring.

The height of the pussy willow elevates the whole arrangement, while the small touches of green and white add even more interest.

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Pretty in Pink

Pin @giggleliving / Instagram

A rustic potting bench acts like a throne in this pink and green container garden.

A white bowl has been used as the vessel, and it’s injected with subtle color.

Sunpatiens bring in the pink while fragrant rosemary and thyme adds a rich green color.

This is a full-sun garden that will give you beauty and some herbs for your next summer meal.

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Fall Window Boxes

Pin @pepperleigheclectic / Instagram

Container gardens can be grown all year long depending on what you plant in them.

Besides green plants and purple flowers that are perfect for the colder season, this fall window box also has small pumpkins and pinecones tucked into the plants that celebrate autumn.

It makes for a beautiful window box that you can change out with the seasons.

For example, in the summer, swap out the fall decor accents for colorful seashells.

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Strawberry Tower

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A Piece of Rainbow

You can grow easily grow strawberries in containers just like A Piece of Rainbow has done.

This container even features a reservoir for easy watering.

The strawberry vines flow from the planter, making it easy to check on the ripeness and pick them when they’re ready.

It’s a vertical tower that’s perfect for a small outdoor space.

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A Garden of Containers

Pin @chicagogardener / Instagram

In just four years, this group of container gardens has grown into a lush garden that’s been grown entirely on a deck.

There’s a wide range of flowers here in pink, blue, orange, and even tall yellow sunflowers that are expertly tucked into the back of the garden.

The back of the garden faces east and the front faces west, giving you lots of choices when it comes to what flowers you’d like to add.

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Colorful Porch Container Garden

Pin @hydrangeahilldesigns / Instagram

This colorful container garden has been added to a porch, which makes it always on view, each time you go outside.

Different shades of greenery, along with red, yellow, and purple flowers give this container garden a lot of interest.

Some of the plants are tall and others are more petite, giving it tons of dimension that you’ll enjoy all season long.

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A Greeting of Tulips

Pin @karenshome_andgarden / Instagram

Steps lead you up to a front porch, where container gardens full of various shades of tulips greet you.

Seven to eight tulips have been grown in each pot, giving just enough growing room so they can thrive but being close enough together that they still make for a lush bouquet.

Tulips can easily be grown in containers that you can keep outside like these or inside when the weather gets cooler.

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Container Corner

Pin @goodvibesgoodlife2022 / Instagram

Here’s a container garden idea that ensures you enjoy your plants while you spend time outside on your balcony.

A mix of large container plants and smaller ones have been expertly placed on plant stands that show them off.

Choose various planters that differ in shape, color, and height so you can easily style them to create an eclectic corner.

To go the extra step, consider accessorizing the space with a chair and rug to make it even cozier.

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Autumn Urn

Pin @green.with.ivy / Instagram

This fall arrangement of greenery and flowers has been placed in an urn in the front yard of a home.

A few mini pumpkins have been added along with some autumn berry sprigs.

An ornamental cabbage is used because they love the cooler weather.

It’s a lovely container garden that proves it doesn’t have to be spring or summer to have a beautiful centerpiece for your yard.

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Wooden Crate Container

Pin The Spruce / Adrienne Legault

Wooden containers grow lovely gardens and can be used inside, outside, or anywhere in between.

If you repurpose a wooden crate like this one, you’ll save money and do it with style.

Make sure the crate has some drainage and then fill it with potting soil.

Add your flowers and plants to turn any mundane container into a magnificent one.

If you want to personalize it even more, consider staining or painting it with a bright shade.

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Concrete Container With Mixed Flowers

Pin @green.with.ivy / Instagram

Here’s an idea for an arrangement that can be put together in late spring or early summer.

Some tall plants give the garden a bold statement while white and pink flowers soften the look.

It’s been placed on a back patio, which is the perfect location to show off your container garden when you entertain.

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Tall Palms

Pin @green.with.ivy / Instagram

The tropical majesty palm is becoming more common in container gardens and does well both outside of your home and in an inside space.

These palms can get quite tall, up to 10 feet when planted in a container.

They make quite the statement with their height and beauty.

Add in some trailing plants and bright blooms to bring a fun flair to the whole look.

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Topiary Terrace

Pin @chipsgardens / Instagram

Everything on this terrace is grown in a container, including boxwood shrubs, ferns, and topiaries.

All the different colors of green play off each other, complimenting and contrasting each other in different ways.

There are also various sizes of greenery to provide even more visual interest.

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Orchid Centerpiece

Pin @evergreen_floral_designs / Instagram

Orchids make beautiful houseplants, and this dainty white one is no exception.

The tall orchid is offset by some small succulents planted at the base of the container.

It makes for a beautiful combination that would work wonderfully as a centerpiece.

It’s a simple container garden that needs a little care to grow and thrive within your home.

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Spring Garden

Pin @homegrownconntainerco / Instagram

Spring is in full swing with this container garden idea.

Various flowers and ferns are placed all in the same container, including the colors of pink, purple, yellow, and green.

These spring plants thrive in container gardens.

The container is a simple one that doesn’t try to take away from what’s going on inside.

It’s a wonderful way to invite spring in and ask it to stay.

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Color Coordinated Container Garden

Pin George Weigel

George Weigel had the container garden idea of color-coordinating a group of pots filled with flowers and plants.

These are placed by a back door, giving you plenty of opportunity to enjoy them.

Here, red flowers are used in every container with white, green, and yellow flowers used as accent colors.

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Rainbow Container Garden

Pin @davidlovestogarden / Instagram

It’s fun to choose a color scheme for a huge group of container gardens like this stunning one that includes gardens in both pots and raised beds.

A rainbow-themed color scheme has been used here with flowers highlighting every color.

They’re all placed in black containers to better accentuate all the vibrant hues.

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Hypertufa Gravel Garden

Pin The Spruce / Sanja Kostic

A hypertufa planter will give you the look of stone without all the heavy lifting since it’s made from easy-to-move-around porous limestone.

You can buy one or make your own and add it anywhere to your yard or garden.

It’s versatile enough to house your favorite flowers or succulents.

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Adorned Windows

Pin @secondnaturedesignsmv / Instagram

DIY window boxes make great container gardens and can inject a lot of color and texture into your home’s exterior.

They’re such an easy way to spruce up your home and front yard.

These are perfect for the spring, showing off purple and pink flowers among some ferns.

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Seasonal Container Garden

Pin @meadowruegardens / Instagram

A container garden can last most of the year depending on what flower and plant types you choose.

These draping violas and rosy ajuga fill the pot in the spring and then some taller plants are added over the following seasons.

It’s a natural and beautiful way to keep your container garden looking bright all year.

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Bright Bulbs

Pin @mrandrewwille / Instagram

Another container garden idea is to plant bulbs in them.

It’s an easy process to plant bulbs and with just a little patience, you can grow a beautiful garden full of them.

Here, a crocus has just bloomed, giving a hint at what a lovely container garden it’s going to be.

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Seed Starters

Pin @wildwestgarrdeneringeorgia / Instagram

Another way to grow a container garden is to start by seed. It’s affordable and produces a lovely result.

It can especially be satisfying to see your container gardens grow from almost nothing into something so beautiful.

Bring in adorable decor accents like this garden gnome to bring more character to your outdoor space.

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Wood Dough Bowl Garden

Pin The Roots of HomeThe Roots of Home had the clever container garden idea of using a wooden dough bowl as the planter.

A trash bag was used as a liner and then pea gravel for drainage.

It was then filled with flowers and greenery including geranium and creeping jenny plants.

She then used moss to cover up the visible dirt.

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Repurposed Planter

Pin The Roots of Home

Instead of rushing out to buy a container for your new garden, consider repurposing a container that you already have.

The Roots of Home took an old wooden gutter and turned it into a container garden that’s attached to the front of her home.

Herbs were the main focus here which included basil, mints, dill, parsley, lemon balm, and rosemary.

Then petunias, sweet potato vines, and low-maintenance marigolds were planted to add some color.

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Color Schemed Pots

Pin The Spruce / Meg MacDonald

Although you can choose a color scheme with your flowers and plants, you can also implement one using your pots.

Here, simple white pots along with terracotta pots have been used to showcase flowers and plants.

They’re grouped,and mixed within each other to create a casual yet modern look.

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Various Shapes

Pin The Spruce / Adrienne Legault

Choose large pots to showcase your flowers and plants, and then group them for even more of an eye-catching statement.

Different colors and shapes of containers have been used here with a wide selection of flowers.

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Rustic Barrels

Pin The Spruce / Adrienne Legault

If you want to create a rustic look for your container garden, then choose a primitive planter like these vintage barrels.

They’ll make a lovely addition to your yard and can show off a wide selection of plants.

Even plants that are larger with deep roots are welcome here.

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Small Succulent Container Garden

Pin The Spruce / Anastasiia Tretiak

A planter that includes some succulents shaped like rosettes will make a lovely and sweet container garden.

The container is a simple terracotta pot and its orange color contrasts beautifully with the light green of the succulents.

Succulents are the perfect plants for those who are new to gardening since they’re low-maintenance.

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Strawberry Pot Paired With Other Plants

Pin The Spruce / Marie Iannotti

This strawberry pot not only provides a place for strawberries to grow, but it also can hold other plants such as herbs and succulents.

Trailing plants also look wonderful in these, since they don’t hinder the strawberries and don’t require a lot of water to grow.

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Macrame Planter Hanger

Pin Carey Shaw / Stocksy

Macrame can give a special rustic and whimsical touch to your decor, and they look great as plant hangers.

Choose one or several of them to display your plants.

These look great inside your home or outside on a fence or shed.

Consider making a DIY plant hanger yourself for a special touch.

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Vertical Hanging Kitchen Garden

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Ursula Carmona of Home Made By Carmona

If you’re tight on space or want to bring in your container gardens during the cold months, check out this tutorial from Ursula Carmona of Home Made By Carmona.

This beginner-friendly building project takes you through the process of creating a pallet-style hanging garden perfect for herbs.

The herbs she’s planted include basil, cilantro, rosemary, and the aromatic peppermint.

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Bowl of Succulents

Pin The Blondielocks

The Blondielocks have created a whimsical container garden of succulents.

A pretty bowl has been used as a container with rocks, soil, various types of succulents, a pink cactus that thrives indoors, and even a few crystals for decoration.

It’s a quick, budget-friendly way to dive into container gardening.

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Vintage Urn Planters

Pin @rusyshovelgardens / Instagram

You can give your container garden an interesting twist by using vintage urns as the planters.

Fill them with flowers in your favorite colors for an added personal touch.

Here, dusty pink and bright yellow flowers make a cheery statement.

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Rusty Red

Pin @readysetgrowtexas / Instagram

Rusty red tones are used to pull everything together in this container garden.

This garden is perfect for fall and features flowers and greenery that thrive as the weather gets cooler.

The bright blue of the planter is unexpected, adding a pop of color.

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Variegated Ginger

Pin @prim.and.potter / Instagram

Variegated ginger is the focus plant in this container garden.

It stands proud and tall with flowers in shades of pink and white trailing underneath it.

Bright begonias bring out the yellow in the ginger and shine against the dull brick wall.

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Classic Green Container Garden

Pin @jlynnflorals / Instagram

Here, a window box and a few containers have been grouped to show off their beautiful greenery.

A few pink flowers peek out from all the green, giving a little bit of color amongst the earthy greens.

Flower buds poke out from a bush, giving you a hint at what’s to come later in the season.

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Planter Wall Shelf

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Ursula Carmona of Home Made By Carmona

If you’re looking for a container garden that looks like a piece of artwork, consider this planter wall shelf from Ursula Carmona of Home Made By Carmona.

You can build the box for yourself or pick up an already-built one and attach it to your wall.

Fill the planter with herbs and hang it in your kitchen for quick access when you’re cooking.

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Small Pool Container Garden

Pin The Spruce / Adrienne Legault

Container gardens can be grown in large vessels, almost forming a DIY raised bed.

This one is especially unique because the flowers and herbs are grown inside a plastic swimming pool that sits on the ground.

A metal fence surrounds the plants to keep the critters away.

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Enclosed Terrarium

Pin 

A Piece of Rainbow

A Piece of Rainbow shows off a stunning and unique terrarium. Although this modern terrarium is enclosed in a container, you can also use open glass containers.

Fill it with cacti, succulents, ferns, and other little plants to give any room an extra touch of style.

They also make for a beautiful gift.

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Patio Fence Container Garden

Pin The Spruce / Margot Cavin

 If you have a patio privacy fence, you can use it to grow a container garden vertically.

It keeps your plants off the ground and turns your patio fence into a living work of art.

Patio gardens are a lovely addition to any outdoor space and the fence shouldn’t be overlooked as a place to grow your plants.

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Hanging Baskets

Pin A Beautiful Mess

Choose an unusual vessel from your container garden to make it stand out. 

A Beautiful Mess has grown theirs in hanging baskets. Herbs and flowers have been grown in this vertical garden that can be hung outside by your door or inside your kitchen.

Three baskets are being used here, but you could add or subtract a basket depending on your needs and space.