Container gardening is a super-easy way to dress up your front porch, add a splash of colour to shady areas, or cope with poor soil in your yard. Many plants thrive in containers. The most important thing is good drainage. Make sure there’s a hole in the bottom of your pot so plants don’t drown. While petunias and marigolds are reliable old standbys in pots, consider these other colourful plants and newer varieties that offer long-lasting beauty in any container:

Pansies and Violas

These darlings of spring and fall gardens come in a stunning array of single and multi-colour blooms. Plant them en masse in one colour for impact, or mix with a variety of later-blooming plants for season-long interest.

Roses

Roses are lovely in landscape planting, but many shrub varieties work well in pots, too. Newer varieties also are disease resistant than old-school roses so they generally don’t need to be sprayed and coddled. Set these out in pretty decorative pots as elegant focal points on your deck or patio.

Nemesias

Perky little flowers last all season on upright stems in tons of bright colours including purple, pink, cranberry, bright yellow, pale yellow, orange, and white. Use as a vertical accent as part of a mixed container.

Angelônias

Delicate but heat-tolerant angelônia, also called summer snapdragon, doesn’t need to be deadheaded to keep blooming all season. They come in pinks, mauves, purple-blues, deep-purple white, and more. Mix them with trailing herbs for an attractive combination.

Information from: www.countryliving.com