I'll Have the Combo Planter



Mixed Planting

 Here's an assortment that I bought a couple of weeks ago--most of which I ended up putting in the same container.  When creating a mixed planting, that is, a combination of plants that will all go in one pot, I choose plants that have similar requirements when it comes to light and water.  All of the plants here need full sun and about the same amount of moisture.  Also, all of these plants are annuals, meaning that they will die  once it gets permanently cold.  You can mix perennial and annual plants, but the thing is you have to pull the annuals out when they die and then replace them the following season.  Also, if your pot isn't big enough, the perennial eventually grows large enough that there won't be any more room for annuals after a couple of years.

So here's what's in the picture:  Chives, Italian Parsley, Basil, Eucalyptus, Calibrachoa (Double Deep Yellow and Dreamsicle), and Ivy Geranium (Pink Variegated and Burgundy Bicolor).  It's fine to mix flowers and herbs--I do it all of the time because we use a ton of herbs for cooking so one pot with herbs isn't enough.  I have them sprinkled among all of my mixed plantings.

So give it a try. Be bold.  Mix it up.

Bookshelf:  Container Gardening Books